Daughter of Dark Magic and Endless Struggle
by Gabriel Tannin
Summary: Cadence Coleman returns to England after twelve years hoping that life will be easy and peaceful. But with Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban tormenting her safety and that of her daughter, she finds that life isn't easy at all, but an endless struggle.
1. Dream

_There was a few short seconds when I felt that everything was right. His lips against mine, and our bodied pressed together. He was hard, soft and firm all at the same time and the only thing I could feel was him. I knew he had been waiting for this moment for ages, waiting patiently for me to come around and give into the feelings that had burned in me since I was fifteen. _

_It had been so long since anyone had kissed me, let alone held me or squeezed me that my body was over whelmed with physical and emotional responses. I stopped and looked up at him and he looked down at me, brushing my hair behind my ear softly. He leaned in and kissed me with deep passion—passion that I knew only he could produce. I had forgotten what it felt like to be loved by someone, to have someone burn for you with such a passion that it hurt. And Gabriel's kisses hurt. They broke me down to pieces as they danced across my skin and all I wanted to do was let him hold me more. He was breaking me down to my most intimate level—a level that I don't think even Sirius ever reached. There was something about the way he held me close to him, it was a cherished feeling and I knew that he was breaking me down but had every intention of putting me back together. He would not let me leave his arms without feeling secure again. I didn't need to tell him that I felt safer in his arms that night then I had ever in my life. We would both cherish the feelings of our skin and bodies against each other, the way we moaned, our sweat rolling off the others skin, and our sexes melding together. _

_That night something happened between Gabriel and me that I could have never foreseen, and the only regret was that I couldn't stay with him. I couldn't be with him for his safety from my Father, even though he had remained loyal to me since we had met. I couldn't be with him because he was my partner and that complicated work matters a great deal. And I couldn't be with him because he was my daughter's godfather. It would be too complicated and I knew that Gabriel understood that even as we made love over again that night. We both knew it would be the only time we ever did it, making it even more precious. When he whispered he loved me my heart broke and he kissed me. I cried softly as I looked up at him—tears of pain because he would never be mine…this would be our only time together….and it would remain a secret. It was better for our lives that way. The risk of being together was too great, too painful for the delicate time we lived in. But I would always love him…I would never admit it…but he always had my heart…even before we made love that night…and he knew that. _


	2. Reality

There was a sharp knock on my bedroom door that interrupted my dream and I sat up out of my bed with groggy eyes. I rubbed them as I pushed the covers off my body and pulled my wand off the nightstand next to the bed. The fist banged on my bedroom door again and I opened it, surprised to see my eleven year old daughter looking up at me with worried eyes.

"What's the matter, Carrigan?" I asked brushing my hair out of my face.

"Mum," she said in her soft young voice. "Gabriel's on the front porch—I wanted to check with you before I let him in. He made it sound urgent."

I frowned greatly and stepped past Carrigan, heading for the stairs down to the first floor. If Gabriel Quintin was standing on my front porch at this time of night it meant that something very serious had happened at the Ministry, or it wasn't Gabriel at all, but an imposter trying to get to me or my daughter.

I jumped the last few steps, and grabbed the handle of the front door. I saw Carrigan grab hold of the step's banister, jump up, kicking her feet against the wall, and then land in the foyer next to me. I looked at her with raised eyebrows and she gave me an innocent smile.

"Dare I ask where you learned to jump the stairs like that?" I said looking to the door and holding my wand tightly.

"I taught her," said the voice on the other side of the door. Gabriel's voice was calm and deep—it was the gentlest male voice I had ever heard and could make any woman lose control of her will and body. I had never understood how he charmed women so easily, nor did he understand how I never gave into him the way he wished…

"What is my tattoo of?"

"_Alis volat propris_," Gabriel said to me. I smiled and bit my bottom lip. His Latin was very good and he spoke it so beautifully.

I opened the door and allowed the tall man into the foyer. Carrigan beamed and jumped into his arms before he could say a word.

"Gabriel!" she said wrapping her body around his and kissing his cheek. He spun her around and held her small body against his; smiling at her like she was his own child.

"How is my girl?" he asked brushing the loose strands of brown hair behind her ear. She flipped her braid over her shoulder and looked him in the eye as he set her back on the ground.

"You should have seen my jump," she said. "I did it just like you told me."

Gabriel pinched her nose playfully.

"Good," he said. I crossed my arms and kicked the door shut. He looked at me and frowned a little. "But perhaps you shouldn't do that, might break the banister…"

Carrigan frowned a little but nodded.

"No matter about breaking your neck," I muttered. Gabriel gave me a cross look and I glared right back at him.

"What are you going to teach me this time? How to conjure things?" Carrigan begged the last question, ignoring the silent argument that Gabriel and I were having. Carrigan had been begging me to show her how to conjure things for years now, but I had always told her to wait until she was in school. It was too difficult to learn until she was older and had studied magic for a little while. Gabriel glanced at me again and I gave him a firm look.

_Please, no_, I said to him with Legilimency.

"I'm not going to teach you anything just yet," he said rustling up her hair. "I've come to talk to your Mother. And aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"Good thing I wasn't," Carrigan said crossing her arms over her chest. "How else would you have gotten in?"

"Woken your Mother of course," he said smiling. "Go on, I'll come up and tell you a story in a bit?"

"I'm a little old for stories," she said holding out a balled fist to him. He smiled lightly and pressed his own balled fist against hers. She turned with a bounce in her step and went to the stairs; she paused holding onto the banister. "Good night, Mum."

"Sweet dreams," I said with a smile to her. I blew her a kiss and she opened her hand and pretended to catch the kiss in her hand.

"Night Carri," Gabriel said.

"Night Gabe," she beamed back and dashed up the stairs. Gabriel's dark eyes turned to me the second she was gone and looked me over.

"Forgive me for calling so late," he said as his eyes lingered on my bare legs. I was only in my pajamas which consisted of a tank top and shorts.

"What do you want Gabriel?" I asked touching his chin and tipping it up so his eyes were looking me in the face. He gave me a half cocked smile and I felt my knees give a little. If I didn't know Gabriel so well, or for so long, I probably would have given in to that half smile. His sex appeal was undeniable…how I had managed it for so long was a miracle.

Gabriel and I had a complex relationship; it was riddled with ambivalence, tension, passion and lustful desires. We were more then just attracted to each other. Gabriel and I shared an everlasting magical bond of a Guardian, a magical impartial teacher, and student, a person of great magical strength and power. A horrible twist of fate had made us fall in love with each other, but that broke the laws of Guardianship and because of it there were numerous consequences: we loved each other, but could never bring ourselves to be together; Gabriel's next student was removed from his path—we suspected that his daughter Jennifer was meant to be his next student, but she died when she was about two in a house fire. The punishment for loving your student was endless for a Guardian and I feared many times that somehow Carrigan would become Gabriel's student which could end in her death. When a Guardian and student form an unnatural relationship a Guardian is seen as unfit, therefore resulting in a reconstruction of their destiny. Our unnatural relationship altered our dependency on each other, as his student, I would always need Gabriel, and as my Guardian he would never be rid of me. Essentially, he was sentenced to be my Guardian for the rest of our lives because we had formed an unnatural relationship, one of love.

But, both of us seemed to accept and be okay with our bond. It complicated things for a long time, making aspects of our life together intolerable—but now it just was. We grew to accept that there was no changing our destiny…we just had to be. Despite that, Gabriel insisted that I drove him crazy and made him want to be a better man—that's what made him love me to begin with, but I had my doubts. Gabriel was a _gorgeous_ man. He dressed well, treated a girl right, made her feel beautiful and wanted, and protected anyone he cared about at all cost. He was loyal to me, and was the only person I could completely trust other then Albus Dumbledore. Any woman would be crazy not to want to be with him…so why wasn't I?

Because I was afraid, I suppose; afraid I'd get hurt again; or afraid I didn't have anything to give Gabriel; or just afraid of injuring my pride. The last man I had given my heart to ripped it out and destroyed it. I still hadn't healed from the wound, and I was still cold and bitter about it. I wasn't sure if I had a heart to give to any man anymore…only Carrigan had me and she was all I needed now. I had lived without a romantic, passionate relationship for twelve years now…what was the rest of my life?

Gabriel's touch brought me back to reality. His thumb was stroking the inside of my wrist, running smoothly over the small wing tattoo that decorated my skin. He was looking down at the tattoo on the inside of my wrist, and the horrible scar that covered my arm above it.

"Your wings are so small to carry you," he whispered looking at my other wrist where I had another wing tattoo, opposite the right one. He leaned down, kissing my ear softly.

"It's not the size of my wings that matters. It's the fact that I made them myself and they are mine. They are all I need to support myself," I said placing my hands on his chest. I sighed slightly as we shared a brief intimate moment.

His fingers left my skin and left a lingering spell over me. Gabriel always left a deep emotional feeling over me when he pulled his body away from mine and let air fill the void he was creating.

"How about love?" he whispered.

"Is that what you came here to ask me about?" I asked looking up at him with a sharp stare. He matched my stare with stunning purple eyes today. Gabriel's eyes were always changing color, they were indescribable, except when something catastrophic happened to him. When his ex, Anita, and their daughter, Jennifer, died, his eyes turned blue and remained that way for months only changing twice that I recalled for me. Since, Carrigan had been born his eyes changed constantly reminded me of a time when Gabriel was full of life and adventure. His velvety purple eyes stared me down and if I were any other woman he would have pressed me against the wall, distracting me with a passionate kiss. I could see it in his eyes that that's what he wanted to do, but was fighting the desire because it was me that he'd be kissing. As badly as he wanted to, he knew that I would push him away and it would start a fight.

Gabriel and I always loved each other, and we knew how the other felt; I asked Gabriel to be my friend and Godfather to my child, but I could never commit my broken heart to him the way he wished me to. I had loved Gabriel since I was fifteen, but I had always been with Sirius. When Sirius left me and betrayed me, I was too proud to go to Gabriel. It would have proven Sirius right and I couldn't do that.

"No," he said softly. "I wanted to speak to you about something very urgent."

"Please," I said leaning against the wall. "Urge away."

He smiled a little.

"Urge? I have a lot of urges running through me right now, Cadence," he said touching my hip. I stared up at him, my body screaming to give into him, my heart begging to be healed, and my head telling me not to give in.

"What do you have to tell me?" I asked pushing his hand away. He intertwined his fingers with mine and kissed them delicately, then pulled away and walked into the living room. He pulled off his long black cloak and threw it on the back of the couch before sitting down. I hated the way he teased me by trying to seduce me and then dismissing me, showing no interesting what-so-ever.

"You should sit down," he said motioning to the spot on the couch next to him. Now I was just getting annoyed. He had come to my house at two in the morning—the information obviously had to do with work and the cases we were working on. Why couldn't he just say it?

He seemed to notice my annoyance.

"Fudge came into the office today before I was leaving," he said. "Caught me in our cubical…asked me to speak with you."

"About?"

"Cadence," Gabriel rubbed his face and sighed.

"Just say it, please."

"It's not easy for me to say it," he whispered. He glanced up the stairs knowing that Carrigan was the type of girl to sit at the top and listen to our conversation. He stood up and came to me, holding my upper arms as he spoke the next few words very quietly. "Sirius escaped from Azkaban about three hours ago."

"_What?" _I exclaimed. I reached out with my mind to penetrate his and see if he was playing a cruel joke on me. He knew what I was doing and shook his head a little.

"It's not something I would joke about love," he said.

"How did he escape? No one can escape Azkaban!"

"They're not sure," Gabriel said. "As usual the Ministry is failing to keep up with their responsibilities. The Dementors are as reliable now as they were fifteen years ago."

I put my hand to my mouth and bit on my fingers; slowly I began to pace the room, thinking about Sirius Black and everything I knew about him. I stopped and looked at Gabriel.

"Have they guessed where he'll go?"

"They think after the boy," said Gabriel crossing his arms. I nodded my head in agreement. It seemed like a reasonable theory. "Fudge was on his way to speak with the Muggle Prime Minister after he spoke with me. He wanted me to come here and check on you."

"Why?"

"Cadence," Gabriel said touching my arms again. "He'll probably come to you at some point."

I pulled out of Gabriel's arms and moved to the fireplace. Flames sprang to life in the grate and I stared into them with dark frustrated eyes. I felt Gabriel behind me; he was touching my shoulders with those wonderful firm hands.

"I think I should stay here the next few nights, until he's caught."

I turned and looked up at Gabriel with raised eyebrows.

"Are you crazy?" I whispered. "I don't need you to stay here and babysit me. And they're not going to catch him, Gabriel. If he escaped from the place so easily I'm quite sure they won't catch him."

"Fudge, Scrimgeour, Moody and Dumbledore all wanted me to come out here and watch out for you," he said very seriously, as if knowing those four men wanting me safe would make me accept Gabriel's offer to stay the night.

Since my return to England a month ago, I had reacquired my position as an Auror at the Ministry of Magic. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge thought that it'd be best if I was partnered with Gabriel because I had been out of the country for so long. The Minister was probably also unsure if he could trust me completely. When I left England the Ministry thought I may be responsible for my best friends James and Lily Potters' death. That created doubt, but the fact of the matter was I was still Voldemort's daughter, even if he was died. I'd live in his shadow for the rest of my life, I had accepted that—but I wished a better life for Carrigan, one where she was afraid of stigma…but that was going to be hard for her when her Father was a Death Eater.

"You're my partner, not my care taker," I said pulling away from Gabriel again. I went to the chair and gripped the back of it tightly out of frustration. Since I was twenty I had developed better control of my physical powers that were connected to my emotions—I had to; I had a baby when I was twenty one and that effected my emotions a great deal.

"I'd like to have a living partner," he said with annoyance that matched mine. "I'm not really in the mood for you to get popped off by your ex because he's a crazy son-of-a-bitch running around like a half cocked pistol."

"Could you keep your voice down please?"

"No," he said coming to me again. "I can't because he's out there Cadence! He's out there looking for you and Carrigan, or Harry Potter! He the most notorious mass murder of the time and you're acting like it's not big deal that he's broken out of prison!"

"Stop yelling at me like I don't know what's going on, Gabriel! It's not that simple okay? I can't just immediately go into panic mode because you told me my ex is on the loose! I'm a big girl! I'm more then capable of taking care of myself and my daughter, especially against Sirius Black. If he stumbles over here he's going to wish he didn't."

Gabriel seemed to accept the answer and smiled a little.

"I've been on the receiving end of your anger before," he whispered. "I feel sorry for the poor bastard."

"Just remember that if anything happens here at the house Carrigan will come to your place by fire," I said softly. "That's why I need you to not stay with me. If something happens here at the house she needs somewhere to go."

Gabriel nodded his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Alright," he said. "You win this time."

I smiled as I moved to him, standing close to him and putting my hands on my hips.

"I win all the time, Gabriel," I said with a smirk.

He nodded his head and ran his hands over my finger tips and onto my hips. His fingers tickled my senses as he wrapped his arms around me, tracing the waistband of my shorts.

"I do recall a few times that I beat you in a fight," he whispered in my ear in a husky tone.

"You probably cheated," I said going to walk past him. He grabbed my arm and swung me around into his chest.

"Is that so bad?"

I slipped out of his grasp with a small smile.

"Yes," I whispered then moved out of the room to lock the front door. I mounted the steps and looked back at him. "You can take the couch if you want."

"Ouch," he said rubbing his chest and looking around the living room. "That's a low blow, Cadence…making me sleep down here on the couch with all your boxes from the move."

Carrigan and I had just moved back to England a month ago, and I had immediately started working at the Ministry again. I hadn't had much time to unpack things and I couldn't very well expect Carrigan too when she was only eleven. I stopped and looked at Gabriel from the stairs.

"You can't sleep in _my_ room," I said with a teasing smile.

Gabriel smiled.

"You sure?"

"Positive," I said back.

"Only fools are positive," he said still grinning. "And you are a fool for not taking me to bed Cadence Coleman."

"I'm crying on the inside," I said turning to go upstairs. "Good night, Gabriel."

"Good night," he called back.

I checked on Carrigan before I went to my room, she was in bed with her eyes closed. I could tell she wasn't asleep because she was lying on her stomach—she never slept on her stomach, even as a baby. She had probably been listening to Gabriel's and my conversation, which was fine. I would have eased dropped if I were her. Once I was in my room I sat at my desk. I couldn't sleep because my body was hotwired now that I knew Sirius Black had escaped Azkaban. Fear was pumping through my system—fear for my daughter. Sirius Black was her Father, and he didn't know she existed.


	3. Work

The next morning I entered the kitchen to find Gabriel cooking breakfast with Carrigan. He was showing her how to flip pancakes in the pan. I stood in the door frame of the kitchen, watching them with a small smile on my lips. Gabriel loved Carrigan as if she was his own daughter, and I was quiet sure that Carrigan thought of him as her Father. When she was four she had asked if Gabriel was her Father and why he didn't live with us in America. From that moment on I knew that their relationship was going to be a complex one, but I had to be honest with her. I told her that Gabriel was not her Father, but a very dear friend of mine who helped me take care of her. He was her Godfather and was someone she could trust no matter what. She seemed to accept this at that age and she didn't ask about her Father until she was seven or eight. Then, I told her that he was a bad man who had betrayed me and was locked up in Azkaban in England. She understood this very well it appeared and never asked of him again. I had a feeling though, that this was the morning that she would ask more about him—and if she didn't I probably should tell her, especially if I was going to send her away to Hogwarts this year.

"Hi Mom!" Carrigan said cheerfully as she jumped while trying to flip a pancake in the pan. The pancake flew out of the pan and hit the ceiling, sticking to it for a moment, and then flew down slapping the kitchen floor. Carrigan frowned deeply and looked at Gabriel, who was smiling lightly. "What'd I do wrong?" she questioned.

"I imagine it's because you jumped," Gabriel said as he waved his wand and cleaned up the mess on the floor. Carrigan nodded and immediately turned to the stove to pour more batter into the frying pan. She was determined to try again. "Here, let me," Gabriel said while she waited impatiently for the pancake to cook so she could flip it.

"But Gabriel—"

"Go eat with your Mother," he said. Carrigan stuck her tongue out at him and picked up a full plate with a huge stack of pancakes on it. Gabriel stuck his tongue out back at her and laughed as she glared and walked away with the breakfast food. She set the plate down on the already set kitchen table as I retrieved some juice and syrup.

"When are you heading into work?" Gabriel asked once he joined us at the table. I frowned slightly and glanced at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall.

"Soon I suppose," I responded. "I have a mountain of paper work to do."

"Me too," Gabriel said. "We can head in together."

"How can I go to work if you're not here to watch Carrigan?" I asked sipping my juice. Gabriel smiled at me.

"Guess she'll just have to come with us," he said looking at her. I punched his shoulder as Carrigan got excited.

"Really?" she exclaimed. "Oh Mom, please can I go? I want to see where you work and train to kill people—"

I looked at my daughter sharply, with a dark glare of disapproval that only a mother can give their child. Carrigan bit her lip, regretting what she said immediately.

"We don't kill people," I said crossly. I turned and gave Gabriel a very nasty look because he was the one who no doubt put that silly idea in her head.

"No," he said slowly. "We are trained to protect ourselves. We don't kill people unless it's in self defense."

"Right," Carrigan said. "It's not your decision to make who lives or who dies. If you killed people you'd be no better then Voldemort and his Death Eaters."

I nodded my head once frankly. "Yes, that's correct."

"Okay," she said. "But can I still go? I haven't gotten to go to work with you since we've moved here. And honestly Mom, this house is kind of a drag, especially when you send Professor Dumbledore to watch me—"

"I thought you liked Professor Dumbledore," I said surprised.

"Of course I do," Carrigan said. "But it can be boring sometimes because he has lots of work to do and really I don't get to do anything exciting. He won't teach me Legilimency because he thinks I'm too young, even though Gabriel has already started teaching me."

"Carri!" Gabriel said and put his head in his hands.

Carrigan frowned and sighed. "Sorry."

"How long have you been teaching her?" I asked as I looked at Gabriel with raised eyebrows.

"Two months," he said. "She's actually very good."

"Yea, see Mom," Carrigan said. I smiled at her.

"There was no doubt in my mind about you being good at it, Carrigan," I said.

"Better then you," Gabriel added as I stood up and began to clear the table. I gave him a nasty glare and he smiled at me with teasing charm. I rolled my eyes and started to wash the breakfast dishes.

"So, do I get to go?" Carrigan asked.

"Yes, I suppose you have to," I said as I smiled at her and then Gabriel. His eyes were still purple, which made my heart skip a beat especially as he looked at me with that loving-all-knowing stare. He had changed his clothes at some point between last night and now; and he looked stunning in his black dress pants, matching waist coat and grey button up shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a sleeve tattoo on his left arm. He had gotten the tattoo to cover up his old faded Dark Mark. After my Father was destroyed the mark had faded, but could still be seen. Gabriel was not one to wear long sleeves all the time, like me, so he covered his mark with art work.

"Great," she said excited. She looked between me and Gabriel for a few moments before speaking again. "Why haven't you two dated?"

I blinked and looked at Carrigan with shocked eyes as my cheeks flushed pink. Why would she ask such a thing?

"Carrigan," I stammered.

"It's complicated," Gabriel said.

"But you think the other is hot," she said. "How's that complicated?"

"What?" I questioned confused.

"Well I just used Legilimency on you, Mom," Carrigan said turning around in her chair. "And you think Gabriel is hot…especially with the way his shirt is rolled up right now revealing his sleeve tattoo."

I could only stare at my daughter with shocked eyes.

"I told you she was good," Gabriel said standing up and picking up the last of the dishes. He messed with Carrigan's hair as he passed her and she smacked his hand away, glaring, and then fixed her hair.

"Carrigan," I said with embarrassment. "Gabriel and I…" I looked at him as he set the dishes down next to me, smiling at me.

"We tried," Gabriel said keeping his eyes on me. "Your Mother is too much of a pain in the ass for me to date."

"And Gabriel is too much of a bastard for me," I said smiling at him.

Carrigan looked at us confused, but nodded her head slowly.

"Okay," she said slowly. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I think of Gabriel as my Father anyways."

Gabriel and I both looked at her with concern. Carrigan had turned around in her chair and was facing the table. She picked up the newspaper that sat on the table and opened it, looking down at it for a few moments. I went to her and sat down, as Gabriel came around to join us.

"Carrigan," I said slowly. "Is that what this is about? Your Father?"

She looked at me with dark midnight blue eyes that matched Sirius Black's and I frowned slightly. Yes, this was about her Father.

"This is him?" she asked pointing the newspaper. Sirius' mug shot was spread all over the front page of the paper, with the headline: Most Notorious Mass Murderer Escaped From Azkaban.

"Yes," I whispered slowly. Carrigan heaved and sigh and frowned as she looked back at the picture of her Father.

"He has my eyes," she whispered. "Rather, I have his. You didn't tell me he was a mass murderer."

"I wasn't sure how much I should tell you," I said taking her hand. "But we can talk about it now, whatever you want to know…"

"They don't know how he escaped?" she asked touching the picture of her Father's face slowly. Her fingers hovered on his eyes for a few moments as if she was trying to feel some type of connection to him.

"No," Gabriel said.

"Well maybe the Auror who caught him should get back out there," she said breathlessly.

"That would be me," said Gabriel. Carrigan turned and looked at them with surprise.

"You caught him?" she whispered. Gabriel nodded his head slowly. "Then you replaced him…" Her voice trailed off and I frowned.

"Carrigan," I said. "It's not like that—"

Carrigan looked at me with sad eyes and cut me off. "I'm pretty sure I can get all the information I need from the paper." She stood up and her hand slipped out of mine. She went to the back door of the house and disappeared into the yard. I stood up and made to go after her, but Gabriel caught my arm. I looked up at him with distress.

"Let her be for a few moments," he whispered.

"But, Gabriel," I sighed as I looked away from him and at the back window. I could see Carrigan walking across the grass towards a large oak tree far back in the yard. When she reached it she began to climb the tree, disappearing into the dense leave covered branches.

"She's strong, like you," he said turning my chin to him. "I'll go out and speak to her in a moment."

"Did I do her wrong?" I asked looking at his purple eyes. "Have a failed her?"

"Hardly," he said wisely. "You've done a damn good job of taking care of her. She just wishes she had a stable Father, not a Death Eater who betrayed you and her, and not me. She's probably madder at me then you right now."

"How can you make this about you?" I questioned annoyed.

"Because in her mind I'm only here when I want to be," he said. "I'm half a father…I'm only here for the good parts of the job."

"But you're not," I said. Gabriel placed his fingers against my lips and I looked up at him a sadness that spread deep from within my heart. I wished he was her father so many times while I was pregnant. I had wished I left Sirius long before he left me, that way I could have been with Gabriel who loved me more then any man loves any woman; and he would be the Father of my child…

"I'll go speak to her," he said kissing my forehead. I sighed and touched his chest.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Gabriel looked at me confused. "It's my fault that we never dated or were together…and you deserved so much—"

"Stop it," he said quickly stroking my cheek. "You know very well that we both made choices regarding our relationship. They're in the past and I understand why we're not together. You also know that despite not being together as a couple we will always be in each other's lives. Don't apologize."

I smiled slightly at him and nodded my head. Gabriel held me against him and I sighed against his chest as he kissed my head. I couldn't put into words how much I loved him and he knew that. He also knew that even if I could describe how much I loved him I wouldn't. I was too proud.

"Get ready for work," Gabriel said. "You can't go to the Ministry in your sweat pants and tank top."

I smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you."

"I'm just doing my Godfatherly duties," he said stepping past me to the door. I smiled at him as he walked out of the house into the backyard. I remained in the kitchen, watching out the window as he walked out of the oak tree. When he reached it, he stood there for a few minutes, looking up into the branches. I imagined he was talking to Carrigan, asking if he was allowed to join her in the tree. After a few moments he climbed up into the tree, disappearing from sight.

I took my time changing and getting ready for work, figuring that Gabriel would be spending awhile with Carrigan in the tree. I took a very quick shower, washing all of the dirty and loving thoughts I had of Gabriel from my mind. I dried my hair with a snap of my fingers and brushed it through. My chestnut brown waves framed my face well in a sexy mess. I dressed in skin tight black slacks, a long sleeve purple peasant top, a long sleeveless black cloak and black heeled lace up boots that went to the middle of my shin.

I always wore long sleeves because I hated the scar that was on my arm from my Father. When I was sixteen he performed a blood bond ceremony on me, slicing my arm open vertically and then left me to bleed out. I had to cauterize my own wound with a fire poker before I escaped. The scar was hideous and long from my wrist up to the inside of my elbow. When I was younger I had started wearing long sleeves because while the wound healed it had a horrible black stain to it, and looked like I had tried to remove a dark mark on my own. For the last couple of years, Gabriel had argued that I shouldn't be ashamed of the mark, especially now that it was a long white scar. It didn't matter what he said, I was still embarrassed by it. I didn't want to take any chances that someone would accuse me of being a Death Eater again. The trial when I was seventeen was hard enough; and the last month at the Ministry was difficult because I was interviewed and assessed for my loyalties the moment I returned…but being proven innocent didn't mean very much, even today. People still doubted you.

I collected my bag for work and went back downstairs, pleased to see that Gabriel and Carrigan were making their way back into the house. I stepped outside onto the back porch and smiled at the pair of them. Gabriel had his arm wrapped around Carrigan's shoulder and she was hugging his center as they walked through the long grass of the yard. I put my hands on my hips and waited for them to reach me.

"Everything okay now?" I asked stroking Carrigan's cheek. She hugged me and smiled up at me with the darkest mysterious stare she could give me. I had fallen in love with that stare when her Father had looked at me with it. It tore my heart to think of Sirius Black and what he would say if he knew he had a beautiful eleven year old daughter. I brushed Carrigan's dark hair behind her ear as she began to speak.

"Yes," she said beaming. "Gabriel is very motivating."

"Funny," I said looking at Gabriel as he stood down on the grass in front of us. "He was never very motivating to me."

"I recall a few moments in our past where I was rather motivating," he responded.

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. "You guys ready to go to the Ministry?"

"Yes!" Carrigan said excitedly. "Can I just go grab my pull over?"

"Yes, of course," I said. Carrigan bounded into the house as I crossed my arms over my chest and smiled at Gabriel. "Thank you."

"Of course, love," he said pinching my upper arm affectionately. "You do know that it is seventy degrees right now, right?"

I smiled at him. "I'm fully aware."

He stepped up onto the porch and stood incredibly close to me. Why did he feel it was necessary to invade my personal space today?

"Because you like it," he whispered to me as he leaned down and kissed my lips. I pulled away from him and gave him a dark glare. He laughed at my reaction and shook his head. "That's what I get for hoping that you'll actually want me someday."

I hit his shoulder and he caught my hand, kissing it tenderly.

"Gabriel," I sighed.

"Alright," he said releasing my hand. "I know when I've pushed you too far."

I thanked him as he walked by me, to go back into the house. I sighed and fanned my face, annoyed that he turned me on so easily. Gabriel was a festering mess of teasing sexual emotions. He drove me absolutely crazy and tempted me to give into him everyday. I was obviously very strong for never giving in the way I desired to so much…but I think that's what made our relationship so much fun. He never gave up on me and I never gave in. We were a constant challenge to the other.

"Mom?" Carrigan asked poking her head out of the backdoor.

I turned to my daughter and smiled at her.

"Ready?"

"Yes, let's go."

When I entered the house Gabriel had his black jacket on his arm. "How are we traveling?"

"Let's Apparate," I said. Gabriel nodded and motioned for Carrigan and I to come towards him. Carrigan wrapped her arms around Gabriel's center, and I held onto his shoulders, then he Apparated us out of the house with a loud crack.

We appeared in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic. The place hadn't changed since I left England twelve years ago. The atrium was an open space going up many floors with beautiful glass window walls so that each floor could look down into the atrium. There was giant golden fountain in the middle of the atrium that displayed a wizard standing tall with a witch, centaur and house elf at his feet. The statue had always bothered me because of the misogynistic inequality it displayed.

As we walked through the atrium, heading for the lifts that went to various floors, Carrigan's eyes were full of wonder. She was looking around the room frantically as if trying to absorb all of the various details it displayed. She walked in front of me, with Gabriel, holding his hand. A part of my heart broke, she really did think of his as her Father.

Gabriel pushed the button of the lift and we waited patiently for it.

"What kind of work do you guys do?" Carrigan asked. "Surely you don't always do paper work."

"Nope," Gabriel said ushering her onto the lift. "We go out and catch bad guys all the time."

I gave him a sharp look and shook my head. "Gabriel is being facetious," I said to Carrigan. "We very rarely go out in the field currently."

"But we used to," Gabriel said with a smile of longing. I could see it in his eyes that he was remembering the glory days of our partnership where each night we'd go out and capture Death Eaters while feverously fighting them.

"Why don't you anymore?" Carrigan asked.

"No need to," I said. "Now that Voldemort is dead, Death Eaters don't usually go out wrecking havoc in his name."

Carrigan nodded her head slowly and looked at me with curious eyes. "What was Grandfather like?"

I bit my bottom lip and thought carefully about how to answer the question.

"It's hard to say, Carrigan," I said. "He was an evil man, who desired nothing but power and fear from everyone in the country. That is why we speak his name. We do not want to give him the pleasure of us fearing his name."

"What is there to fear about name?" Carrigan shrugged.

"You're a smart girl," Gabriel said as the lift chimed to inform us that we had reached our floor. Carrigan beamed at him and waited for one of us to step off the lift.

"Stay close, please," I said as we made our way down the hall towards the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Gabriel pushed up the large oak doors that lead to the department and allowed me and Carrigan to enter first. She looked around wildly, observing everything she could as we worked our way through the jungle of cubicles towards ours in the back corner of the floor.

Gabriel stopped for a moment at a cubicle and greeted another Auror.

"Mom," Carrigan called after me. I stopped and turned to see that she was with Gabriel. I came back to her and pinched her arm.

"So much for staying close," I said. She smiled at me.

"Hello Cadence," said the Auror who was in his cubicle chair. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm fine, thank you Davidson," I said with a forced smile. "This is my daughter Carrigan."

"Yes," said Davidson with a smile. "Gabriel introduced us. Pleasant girl."

"Thank you," I said beaming. "She's pleasant now so everyone thinks she's an angel."

"Mom," Carrigan sighed with embarrassment. I smiled at her.

"You want to be an Auror like your Mom?" Davidson asked Carrigan.

"I think so," she said with a broad smile.

"Well I'm sure you'll be an amazing Auror," he smiled.

"Thanks," Carrigan said politely.

"It was good to see you Davidson," said Gabriel. "Good luck with that case."

"Thanks Gabriel, I'll send it your way if I need help," Davidson said. Gabriel nodded and said that'd be fine. I hooked Carrigan's arm and we began to walk away as Gabriel finished up his discussion with Davidson. I leaned down to Carrigan and whispered in her ear.

"If you embarrass me, I'll embarrass you."

She smiled up at me and shook her head. "Two can play that game."

I laughed and patted her shoulder, knowing very well that she was just like me. I bit my bottom lip as I wondered how much of her Father she had in her. Sometimes, she remained me of him, but only sometimes. Perhaps growing up with me as her Mother and Gabriel as her Godfather had forced all of the Black out of her. She was adventurous and curious like Sirius; definitely had his eyes, and sometimes I swore that she spoke just like him. Gabriel had told me once that she'd break hearts just like Sirius had—before Sirius and I were together he was with a different girl every other week. I was the first girl he committed himself to…but that all turned out to be a lie. I thought now that he had just dated me because of who I was…my Father's daughter.

There were a lot of things about Sirius' betrayal that didn't make sense to me. We were so in love at one point, especially when he first started dating; and Sirius didn't know that I was related to Voldemort until we had been dating for a few months. I believe that he had loved me—at one point, but I didn't understand when he switched sides. When did he become a follower of my Father? I had never bothered to ask. The last time I had seen him was a few weeks before he gave up James and Lily to Voldemort. I had turned down his marriage proposal, and he left me. Perhaps I had driven him to my Father. I had forced him to lose faith in me and all that was good.

"Cadence?" Gabriel called my name which pulled me back to reality. I looked at him with raised eyebrows as he sat down in his chair in our cubicle.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You okay?" he asked as Carrigan took a seat in my chair and rolled it in front of the board of wanted Death Eaters that we were hunting for.

"Yea," I nodded.

"Coleman," a voice called. I turned and leaned out of the cubicle to see a skinny man with dark brown hair and glasses coming down the aisle towards me.

"Hello Manning," I said. "What can I do for you?"

"Scrimgeour would like to see you in his office," he said. "Hey Quintin, how are you?"

"Good," said Gabriel with a nod in greeting. Cameron Manning leaned against our cubicle wall and his eyes fell on Carrigan.

"It's against the rules to bring your children to work," he said. I frowned and gave him a nasty look as Carrigan turned around to look at the man.

"Leave her be, Manning," said Gabriel defensively.

"Why aren't you supposed to bring kids to work?" Carrigan asked.

"Because this isn't an appropriate place for them," Manning replied.

"My Mom does work at home all the time," Carrigan said challenging Manning. "Why would here be any different?"

I smiled slightly. "That is enough Carrigan," I said giving her a serious look. She frowned and turned back to the cork board, picking through the pictures.

"I see where she gets her cheek," Manning replied.

Gabriel stood up and I frowned deeply, putting my head in my hands. Cameron Manning was an idiot to begin with, but challenging Gabriel about my parenting skills was a dangerous game.

"Come on Carrigan," I said. "I want you to meet my boss."

Carrigan stood up and took my extended hand. We walked through the aisle of cubicles and made our way to the opposite side of the floor, where Rufus Scrimgeour's office was. He was the head of the department; a relatively calm but stern man. I liked him more then Bartemius Crouch, the former head of the department. He now held a different position in the Ministry, but I didn't know what position…nor did I really care.

I knocked on the office door and Scrimgeour's rough voice bid me enter.

"Hello Mr. Scrimgeour," I said entering. I let Carrigan enter the office and then closed the door tightly behind us. "How are you this morning?"

"I've been better, Miss Coleman," he said as his dark eyes fell on Carrigan. Rufus Scrimgeour was a tall man who looked a great deal like a lion with long bushy hair, and a rigid posture. He always struck me as a calm but serious man who looked like a lion ready to pounce on its prey at the opportune moment.

"Sir, I wanted to introduce my daughter to you," I said presenting Carrigan. "This is Carrigan."

"Hello Carrigan," said Scrimgeour standing up from behind his desk and extending his hand. Carrigan took it and shook it as she bowed her head.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir," she said with a frank smile. Scrimgeour nodded his head.

"The pleasure is mine," he said. He looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Carrigan is just visiting for a short time," I said easily. "Gabriel is going to take her home in about an hour. She was curious about my work and what we do here."

Scrimgeour nodded his head and forced a smile. "If you're anything like your Mother, which I'm sure you are, then we'd be happy to have you with us in the future," he smiled.

"Are you recruiting this young?" Carrigan asked hopeful.

"I'm afraid not," Scrimgeour said. "Although, you Mother was sixteen when she started here—turned seventeen a month into her partnership with Gabriel."

"Maybe I can beat that," Carrigan beamed looking up at me. I smiled and squeezed her shoulders.

"Maybe," I said. "You remember your way back to the cubicle?"

"Yea," she nodded.

"Don't bug Gabriel while he's doing paper work," I said. "There is a puzzle book in my desk, if you get bored."

"Alright," she nodded. "It was nice to meet you Mr. Scrimgeour."

"You also, Carrigan," he said.

Carrigan waved and made her way out of the office. Scrimgeour took his seat behind the desk and motioned for me to also sit down. I knew what this conversation was going to be about; obviously Scrimgeour was concerned about Sirius' break out.

"She's charming," he said easily.

"Thank you sir," I replied. "She'll be starting at Hogwarts in September."

"Ah, first year," he said with a smile. "I remember when I sent my boy off. It was one of my proudest moments."

"Dumbledore thinks that Carrigan is advanced enough to study as a second year," I said proudly. "Despite being eleven."

"She no doubt has your powerful skills and strong mentality," Scrimgeour nodded. "The Ministry would be lucky to have her one day."

I nodded. "Did you want to speak to me about Sirius Black?"

"Yes," he said with a soft sigh. "I did. I'm assuming Gabriel caught you up to speed."

"Yes, he woke me very early this morning to inform me."

"The Minister, Dumbledore and I thought it necessary."

"What are your concerns, Sir?" I asked softly.

"My concern is that the notorious mass murderer in all of England's history is loose on the streets and no one seems to know where he's going," he said frankly. "Gabriel may have caught him twelve years ago, but you and I know that was very much luck. You knew him best Miss Coleman, and I would very much appreciate it if you could find him."

"Sir, I don't know if I'm the best person for that job," I said honestly. "I don't know him best. He betrayed me when he betrayed my best friends to Voldemort. Everything I had known about him was a lie. I would rather you did not assign his case to me."

Scrimgeour nodded. "Those are valid reasons, but half the department is going to be on his case. I'm putting Kingsley Shaklebolt as the head on the case, but I will be assigning you and Gabriel to the case. You're two of my best Aurors. I need you on this case."

I frowned deeply and rubbed my face with a sigh. I did not want to be on Sirius' case. As much as I wanted to catch him and kick his ass, I wanted to avoid him as much as possible also. I was not looking forward to the conversation I would have with him about Carrigan. I did not want to dig up old dirt…It just wasn't worth it to me. I had lived the last twelve years without answers concerning his betrayal; I would be perfectly fine living the rest of my life without them. I didn't know if Carrigan would be alright however.

"Alright," I whispered. "Should I report to Shaklebolt for my assignment then?"

"No," Scrimgeour shook his head as he placed a file folder on the far side of the desk for me. I stood up and picked up the folder, opening it to see what I was supposed to be doing to assist the Ministry in the hunt for Sirius Black. I nodded my head slowly.

"You want me to take Gabriel with me?" I asked looking up at Scrimgeour.

"No, he has his own assignment. I think you'll be fine on your own."

"Alright, thank you Sir," I said bowing my head and stepping away from the desk to leave.

"Wait one moment Miss Coleman," Scrimgeour said. I looked at him with raised eyebrows and waited for him to speak. He crossed his hands in his desk and looked to the ceiling as if counting to ten. To my surprise there was a knock on the door, announcing that someone else had arrived to speak to Scrimgeour.

"Enter," Scrimgeour called.

I was surprised to see Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry enter the office. I smiled at him and immediately greeted him with a hug. The old man had saved my life in some ways, and had been a constant guardian to me, like a wise old grandfather. Today, Dumbledore was wearing burgundy robes with silver swirls detailed into the cloak. His long white beard and hair made me think of the Muggle renditions of Merlin—who really looked nothing like Dumbledore.

"Miss Coleman," Dumbledore said in greeting. "It is a pleasure to see you, as always."

"Hello Professor," I beamed. "What brings you here?"

"Rufus and I wished to discuss something with you," he said moving past me to greet Scrimgeour who had stood up from his desk chair. The two older men shook hands in greeting, and then Dumbledore took a seat in one of the arm chairs across from the desk. I followed his lead and took my seat again.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked with hesitation.

"Your daughter, Carrigan," said Scrimgeour with a sad frown.

I looked at the two men with surprise and confusion.

"How much danger do you think she is in because of Sirius' escape?" asked Dumbledore softly as he put his fingertips together in front of his face. I frowned slightly and thought about his question.

"I don't think she's in too much danger," I shrugged. "I didn't know I was pregnant with her until after Sirius had been caught. He doesn't know she exists. She might be in danger if he ever finds out."

"What are the chances of that?" Dumbledore asked looking at Scrimgeour, who shook his head, letting his lion's main of hair swish around him.

"It's difficult to say," he answered. "I think we should focus on preventing him from find out at all."

"And how do you propose we do that?" I asked with nervousness. I was not expecting this type of conversation to happen. "Honestly, I think she's in more danger because she's Voldemort's grandchild. Trust me Scrimgeour, just because my Father was destroyed twelve years ago doesn't mean he's gone. I wouldn't be surprised if he somehow managed to hold onto his last breath and is still alive, scrounging off of animals and weak people. Harry Potter destroying my Father as a child was too easy—the reality is that he will probably come back, he was just weakened my Potter."

"You're worried that Carrigan will face harassment like you did if Voldemort does return?" Dumbledore asked me.

"Yes," I whispered. "But there is no way of telling if that will happen."

"Miss Coleman, while I think you're fear of your Father returning is just that—a fear," Scrimgeour said. "I do not blame you for being proactive. I was very surprised to find that you returned to his country with the same name you left with. Perhaps the answer to both of our concerns is as simple as that, changing Carrigan's last name."

I pondered the idea for a few moments. Part of me hated the idea because it meant rejecting her past, changing who she was and making it harder to link her to me as her Mother. But wasn't that the point? Would changing Carrigan's last name make it more difficult to know who her Father and Grandfather were?

"Let me think about it," I whispered. "I want to speak to her about it."

"What light could an eleven year old shed on this?" Scrimgeour asked with raised eyebrows.

"Considering it is her name that we would be changing I find that her opinion is very important. If that is all, I need to get to work," I said the last sentence as I held up the file folder Scrimgeour had given me.

"If we are going to change Carrigan's last name we would have to do so in the next few weeks," Dumbledore said. "Before she starts at Hogwarts."

I nodded in understanding. "We will know by the end of the week."

"Thank you Coleman," said Scrimgeour.

"Good day to you both," I said, then I turned and left the office.

I walked back to my cubicle with an unsteady feeling in my stomach. I was really torn about changing Carrigan's name. I wasn't sure if it would really keep her that much safer—and honestly facing harassment at school was part of being a teenager. I knew that Carrigan could handle her peers mocking her, but did I want her to go through what I did?

"Everything okay?" Gabriel asked when I arrived in the cubicle. He could tell by the look in my eyes that something was bothering me.

"Yea," I nodded. I dropped my case file on my desk and leaned against the cubicle wall. Carrigan was sitting in my desk chair still studying the most-wanted pictures on the cork board. She was writing in a notebook that Gabriel must have given her. I was curious to know what she was doing; no doubt writing down the descriptions of the witches and wizards pinned on our wall hoping that she might see them on the street and have the opportunity to catch them.

Gabriel stood up and took my elbow, guiding me out of the cubicle and down the aisle out of Carrigan's earshot. He looked at me with calm purple eyes, knowing very well that something was bothering.

"Will you tell me now?" he asked.

"Scrimgeour and Dumbledore want me to change Carrigan's last name," I whispered. "They think it will protect her from Sirius and the potential harassment she faces for being my daughter."

"You mean Voldemort's granddaughter," Gabriel said with a nod of his head.

"Yes," I said as we both peered back at the cubicle where Carrigan had stood up and was speaking to a tall dark skinned man. I recognized him as Kingsley Shaklebolt. I left Gabriel's side and headed back to the cubicle.

"Kingsley," I said in greeting offering my hand to him. He shook it and smiled at me with a large white grin. "How are you?"

"Doing alright. Hello Gabriel," he said as Gabriel came up behind me. "This is your daughter?"

"Yes," I said. "Carrigan, we just moved back to England. She wanted to see the Ministry."

"And what do you think of it?" Kingsley asked Carrigan.

"I think it's incredible!" she replied. "I think I'd like to work here someday."

"How about you focus on getting started with school first," I said with a smile.

Carrigan rolled her eyes and sat back down in my desk chair. "What can I do for you, Kingsley?"

"Scrimgeour said he gave you an assignment," he said glancing at Carrigan. I nodded my head.

"Yes, I have some paper work to do then I'm heading to Little Whinging," I said holding up the file folder that Scrimgeour had given me.

"Alright," Kingsley said. "Good luck then."

"Thank you," I said as he walked away.

"What's in Little Whinging?" Gabriel asked. I handed him the folder and he opened it. He nodded his head as he read through the paper quickly. "I'm surprised they haven't sent somebody already."

"Low priority," I shrugged. "Where are they sending you?"

Gabriel glanced at Carrigan who was lost in her own little world, writing frantically in her notebook. He reached onto his desk and pulled a red file folder out of a stack of colored folders. He handed it to me and I frowned deeply when I read what was inside.

"I suppose somebody has to," I whispered as I looked up at Gabriel. "I don't think Remus had anything to do with it."

"I would agree," Gabriel said with a nod of his head. "But we have to cover our basis."

"When are you going?"

"Tonight," he said. I frowned and bit my lip, looking at Carrigan.

"Do you have to go tonight?" I asked looking up at Gabriel. He looked at me and frowned slightly.

"I suppose I can go now," he said softly as he studied me.

I smiled. "Can we come with you?"

"Do you think that wise?" Gabriel asked glancing at Carrigan.

"I haven't seen Remus in twelve years," I said. "And I would like him to meet Carrigan. He would have been her Godfather if you weren't around."

Gabriel laughed and shook his head.

"Alright," he said. "But we best keep it to ourselves. I don't think Kingsley or Scrimgeour would be happy to know that we're taking an eleven year old with us into the field."

"Oh please," I sighed. "Carrigan."

She looked up at me with questioning eyes.

"Come on," I said as Gabriel picked up his jacket. "We're heading out."

"I don't want to go yet, Mom," Carrigan shook her head.

"Trust me," I said with a smile. "You want to go. Come on, Gabriel is buying us lunch."

Gabriel gave me a nasty glare and I smiled at him.

"Then you're Mother is going to get me fired," Gabriel said pinching my arm.

He wrapped his arm around Carrigan's shoulders and guided her out of the cubicle. I placed my assignment folder in a drawer in my desk and then turned to follow them to the lifts. I was excited to be getting out of the office—I hated sitting in the cubicle all day; like Gabriel, I desired the adventure of the glory days—the danger, fights and triumphs of fighting Dark Magic. But in this day in age I would settle for getting out of the office to go visit an old friend—Remus Lupin, who may be involved with Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban.


	4. Protect

I was surprised to see that Remus Lupin's home was the same as it was twelve years ago. The last time I had stood on his porch was about two weeks after Sirius left me because I refused to marry him. Sirius went to Remus because he couldn't go to James Potter, his best friend, who was in hiding. Although, all of that didn't seem to matter now; Sirius could have gone to the Potter's if he wished—he betrayed them a few months later anyways.

"Where are we?" Carrigan asked looking up at the worn old house with raised eyebrows.

"We are here to call on an old friend," I said. "His name is Remus, he and I went to school together."

"Says in his file he's been out of a job for awhile," Gabriel said. I nodded, not surprised by this fact. Remus had been a very smart caring man, but he was also a werewolf which held him back in our unequal world. The wizarding world had an uncanny way of not accepting people because of their differences, which is why I imaged my Father had grown as powerful as he had twelve years ago.

"Are you here for work?" Carrigan asked looking at Gabriel with wise eyes. He smiled at her.

"We just have to ask him a few questions about your Father," Gabriel said. "There is the possibility that he came here."

Gabriel marched up the gravel path to the old wood porch. Carrigan and I followed, holding each other's hands as he approached. We stopped at the bottom of the porch steps, looking up at the brown house's peeling paint. The shutters were broken, faded, or missing and the glass of the windows was dirty. Carrigan looked uneasy, but I gave her hand a squeeze and she forced a smile up at me. Gabriel banged on the door and I was surprised when it opened instantly.

Remus Lupin stood in the door frame with his wand tightly in his hand, down at his side. He was wearing brown pants and a green long sleeve shirt, with a worn brown leather cloak over it. His brown hair was messy and falling in front of his pale face. His cheeks looked hallow and his dark brown eyes had shadowy circles around them.

"Gabriel Quintin," Remus said. "I was wondering when I would find you on my doorstep."

"Hello Remus," Gabriel said softly. "I'm very sorry to call like this. Do you mind if I take a look around?"

"I understand. Please, go ahead, but he has not been here," Remus opened his door wider and bid Gabriel enter. Gabriel stepped into the house and looked back at Carrigan and I. We mounted the steps and made our way across the porch to the front door. "Merlin's beard," sighed Remus looking at me. "Cadence Coleman!"

He threw his arms out and I released Carrigan's hand to embrace my old friend tightly. Remus felt frail and thin in my arms, but he hugged me with incredible strength. He stepped back and held onto my arms, looking at me with a smile in his dark brown eyes.

"You have not changed a bit," he said looking me up and down.

"I've missed you Remus," I said squeezing his arm. "I'm sorry that I didn't not write or call on you...but Dumbledore thought it best that I disappear."

"Yes, of course. Please come in," Remus said motioning to the door that Gabriel had already entered. He had disappeared in the house to quickly look it over for Sirius. Remus paused and looked at Carrigan for a few moments. I knew he saw Sirius in her and I bit my bottom lip. He looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Surely she's not…"

"She is," I whispered.

Carrigan looked at us with a nervous smile. "I'm Carrigan," she said holding out her hand to Remus. He looked at her with a surprised smile and shook her hand. Even I was surprised by her outgoingness.

"She's my daughter," I said to Remus. He nodded and looked at me for a moment.

"I can see that," he said. "I can also see who her Father is."

I nodded my head and looked at the ground awkwardly.

"Right," Remus said patting Carrigan's shoulders. "A pleasure, Carrigan. Let's all go into the house. I'm assuming it will not take Gabriel very long to perform his search."

"I'm very sorry that we have to do this, Remus," I said as we entered the house. Carrigan crossed her arms over her chest and looked around the front hall we had just entered as Remus closed the door tightly behind us.

"I knew that the Ministry would be coming to see me sooner or later," Remus sighed. "Especially since this is where Gabriel caught him to begin with. Are you hungry or thirsty? I'll put on a pot of tea."

He made his way into the back of the house where the kitchen was. As we followed, Carrigan leaned close to me to whisper in my ear.

"Is he a werewolf Mom?" she asked a little uneasy.

"Yes," I nodded. "He has been since he was a child. He is one of the nicest men I have ever known, and if Gabriel hadn't been around he would have been your Godfather. Do not fear him, Carrigan. He's a good man."

"Do you both want tea?" Remus asked when we entered the kitchen.

"I would like some, thank you," Carrigan said as she sat down at the table.

"I wouldn't mind a cup Remus," I nodded. I looked around the small kitchen and felt a little uneasy. This is where Sirius had lived for three months before he was caught…I shook my head and forced a smile at Remus as he brought the cups of tea to the table.

"How have you been holding up?" I asked once we all had a steaming up of tea in our hands.

"Just fine," Remus said with a slow nod. "Dumbledore has offered me a position at Hogwarts."

"Really?" I said with a smile. "That's good, Remus. What position?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Remus smiled.

"Oh, Remus, that's perfect," I said squeezing his arm. "You'll be an amazing teacher."

"You're going to be one of my Professors?" Carrigan asked with surprise.

"Yes," Remus nodded. "How old are you?"

"Eleven," Carrigan responded, then took a sip of tea.

"Oh, you're first year," Remus said. "I imagine your Mother is thrilled to send you off."

"I can't wait to get her out of the house," I joked. Carrigan glared at me, with a look so similar to my own and I couldn't help but smile. I winked at her and she smiled. "Carrigan is going to be taking second year courses; Dumbledore believes that she is a very gifted student."

"Like you, no doubt," Remus said.

"Gabriel says I'm stronger then Mom," Carrigan said. I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed.

"Gabriel…" Remus nodded glancing up stairs, where Gabriel was no doubt looking around. "You and him are together?"

I coughed and shook my head. "No. He is Carrigan's Godfather."

"Ah," Remus said. "I'm sure Sirius will love that when he finds out."

"He's not going to find out until I want him to, Remus," I said quickly. "The Ministry and Dumbledore think that if he knew of Carrigan she would also be in danger."

"Well, of course. You didn't tell him you were pregnant…I'm sure both of you would be in danger."

"I didn't know until after he was caught," I said shaking my head. Remus patted my arm.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he whispered.

"Alright," said Gabriel entering the room. "Remus, Cadence, can we speak in private?"

"Yes," Remus said. "We can go into the study, right down here." He motioned to a basement door. He opened it and descended the stairs first, Gabriel followed.

"You'll be okay up here?" I asked Carrigan.

"Yea," she nodded looking around. I saw the temptation in her eyes to go snooping through the house.

"Don't be rude," I said to her. She frowned at me and nodded her head.

"Alright," she sighed.

When I descended the staircase I saw Gabriel standing tall in the center of the room as Remus paced about, clearly frustrated. I had closed the basement door behind me so Carrigan could not over hear our conversation. The basement study was cozy and small, with all of the walls lined with books, a small desk with a candle on it and a large arm chair in the corner.

"He hasn't been here?" Gabriel asked.

"You looked through the house yourself," Remus responded placing his tea on the desk. "Look, Gabriel, I was interviewed after you caught him twelve years ago and it was concluded that I had no involvement then—why would you think I was involved now?"

"We're just covering the basis, Remus," I said softly. "We don't mean to offend you, and I'll be the first to admit that I believe you. I know you weren't involved. We just want to know if you know anything."

"Well I don't," he said perturbed. "I was expecting you, but that doesn't mean I'm not offended by what you're suggesting."

"Remus," Gabriel said. "We know you're not involved."

Remus stopped pacing and put his hands on his hips. "Alright," he said. "Then what do you want?"

I approached Remus slowly. "Do you have any idea what he will go after?"

"I would imagine Harry," said Remus. "But at this point I don't know. I thought I knew him…I thought he was my best mate, Cadence…I don't know what I know about him anymore."

"I know," I whispered sadly.

"It doesn't make any sense at all," Remus said. "The Sirius we knew wouldn't have given up James and Lily like that. There is no way he would have."

"The Sirius we knew was a lie," I frowned.

"But when did he change sides?" Remus asked. "You mean to tell me that the entire friendship was a lie?"

"No," Gabriel interjected. "No. He probably doubted our side for a moment, but that moment was enough for Voldemort to pounce on him. Or he was black mailed into helping Voldemort. Something happened that we don't know about, but that doesn't change what he did. Even if he was blackmailed to be a Death Eater, Sirius still gave up the Potters and he has to take responsibilities for those actions—"

"Of course he does!" Remus said. "But it just doesn't make sense." He looked at me and I frowned deeply. "He just cracked when you said no to him."

"You're blaming this on me?" I questioned quickly. "Because I told him I didn't want to marry him?"

"No," Remus shook his head. "No of course not. Sirius made his own decisions. But something happened to him after you turned him down. That is when he changed."

I sighed and turned away from Remus, rubbing my face in my hands. "So you are blaming this on me."

"No, Cadence," Remus sighed loudly with frustration. "I don't know what happened to him, but I can't believe that Sirius Black would turn his back on his friends—"

"He did Remus," I snapped viciously, my frustration getting the best of me. "He left us. He lied to us. He said he didn't want to be the Potters' secret keeper and yet he still did it! He was a Death Eater, manipulation was his specialty." I sighed and turned away looking up at the stairs. Carrigan was sitting upstairs waiting for us to return. I bit my bottom lip and looked at Remus. "We're sorry for calling without warning. Come on Gabriel, there is nothing here for us."

I mounted the stairs and walked away, hearing Gabriel say something else to Remus. I sighed as I opened the basement door, and tried to relax. I didn't want Carrigan to think anything was wrong. But of course, as soon as she saw me she knew something was wrong. She frowned and stood up.

"Ready?" I asked. She nodded but didn't say anything. Gabriel came upstairs a few seconds behind me, and as I ushered Carrigan to the front door. I paused for a moment in the front hall of the small house. When Remus and Gabriel reached us, I went to Remus and hugged him.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in his ear. He held me tightly and patted my back.

"I know," he said stepping back and pinching my cheek. "It's okay. This is a very stressful time." He took my hands and squeezed them. "We have to stay together though."

"I know," I nodded my head. "I'm just so afraid, Remus. I thought I could trust Sirius with my life—if I couldn't trust him, who can I trust?"

Remus nodded his head. "I understand. But we can trust each other."

"Thank you," I said. "I'll see you around. Have a safe trip to Hogwarts in September."

"Thank you," he said. He bid good bye to Gabriel and said he'd see Carrigan at Hogwarts. She was polite and thanked him for the tea. When all good byes were said we Apparated back to the house. Gabriel opened the front door for us and Carrigan bounded in, heading upstairs to her room.

Gabriel touched my arms as I stood in the front room, gripping the back of an arm chair and biting my lip, praying for patients. He kissed the back of my neck to get my attention and I turned to him, annoyed. How dare he kiss me now?

He frowned at the dark glare I was giving him and stroked my cheek. I made to smack his hand away and he grabbed my wrist, making me glare at him more.

"I'll stay here with Carrigan," he said calmly. "You go check on the Potter boy."

I sighed and nodded my head. "There is no point in changing her name," I whispered sadly. Gabriel looked at me confused, stilling holding my wrist. "Remus knew who she was the moment he saw her. She looks just like me but has his eyes…there's no way to stop that."

"But maybe changing her name will protect her from your Father's legacy," Gabriel said. "We both know he is going to come back eventually, Cadence, might as well be prepared for it. If your Father gets wind that he has a granddaughter…I don't want to imagine what kind of danger Carrigan will be in."

"She'll be in the same kind of danger as I was," I responded leaning against Gabriel's firm chest. "And you know she won't want to shed her name. She's very proud of where she comes from, despite it being a horrible mess of dark magic genes. We are both daughters of dark magic…"

"You both love your name because you defy the stigmatism that follows it. Being a Coleman, assumed to be bad, but really being good gives you a thrill, just like it will give Carrigan one."

I sighed and stood up straight, knowing that Gabriel was right. I had to speak to Carrigan about changing her name and see if we could come to a reasonable solution. I had my doubts that changing her name would keep her safe, but every little bit helped…and I'd rather be safe then sorry when it came to my daughter.

"She's going to beg you to train her."

"We'll just work on Legilimency," he shrugged. "She may be good at penetrating people's mind with out them realizing but she is horrible at blocking them."

"Reminds me of someone we both know," I said with a faint smile.

"Are you going to let me kiss you now?" Gabriel asked leaning in close to me. "Since I know you so well?"

I smiled and pushed him away. "No," I said crossly. Gabriel grabbed my arm as I pushed him away and twisted them, forcing me to turn. He pushed me against the arm chair and I sighed as he leaned against me. His breath was hot on my ear as he spoke.

"Brings back memories," he whispered.

"Of what?" I snipped forcing all of my weight back against him. He released my arm, allowing me to turn and I swung a punch at him—he blocked it and bent down, grabbing my leg and pulling it out from under me. I fell to the ground with a yell of frustration, which Carrigan heard because she appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She knew Gabriel and I were just messing around, letting out our frustration, but that didn't stop her from joining in. She jumped onto Gabriel's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. I smiled and stood up as he groped at her arms, trying to find a place to break free. I made to kick his stomach but he grabbed my ankle and flipped me onto the ground again. He then bent down and pulled Carrigan over his back, flipping her onto the couch.

"Ha!" he said. "That will teach you two to team up on me!"

I grabbed his ankles and knocked his feet out from under him, pulling harshly. Gabriel toppled over onto the floor next to me. Carrigan took full advantage of this and jumped on top of him, pinning his arms down with her knees and putting her hands to his throat.

"I would hold a knife to you, if I knew how to conjure things," she said giving me a glance.

I smiled and grabbed her, pulling her off of Gabriel and tickling her stomach. "You're too young for that!"

"Mom!" she groaned trying to break free.

Gabriel laughed which light a fire in Carrigan because she broke free from my tickling hands and tackled him again, tickling him viciously. Gabriel pleaded for her to stop tickling him as he tried to grab at her little wrist, but she was too fast for him.

"Say that I kicked your ass," she said.

"Carrigan!"

"Butt," she said quickly as she stopped tickling Gabriel. "I meant butt."

I smiled and shook my head as I stood up. "The range of your vocabulary always surprises me," I muttered.

"Fine," Gabriel sighed out of breath. "You kicked my butt, Carri."

"Good," she jumped up and held out her hand, he took it and she pulled him up to the best of her abilities. "You're making dinner then."

Gabriel laughed and shook his head as Carrigan walked out of the sitting room and headed back upstairs. "You're just like your Mother!" he yelled after her.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I sighed pushing my messy brown hair out of my face. Gabriel grabbed me and pulled me against him. I couldn't help but smile at him as my chest heaved up and down against his.

"It's not," he said softly holding me close, with his hands in the back pockets of my black pants. "She fights like you, and has your cheek."

"She's stronger then me," I whispered. "She catches on faster."

"I agree with that," he said smiling. I gave him a nasty glare and pulled out of his arms with a slight frown. I wished so many times that I wouldn't be so proud and just give into him…I also wished that he wouldn't tease or tempt me so much. He wasn't making this easy at all. It was easier when I lived in America, and he came by a few times a month when he could get off work. Now that I was back in England, and Gabriel was my partner again, it was harder to ignore the temptation…and I could see in his eyes that it was harder for him to not act on his impulses. Sirius had been the X factor that prevented Gabriel and I from being together, now the only thing that kept us apart was my pride—which was a lot easier to change then Sirius. Now there wasn't a good reason to not be with Gabriel…I was just a fool.

"Always have been," Gabriel said kissing my cheek quickly. I shoved him away from me as he laughed lightly. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest even more frustrated with him. He took off his coat and threw it on the arm chair behind me and then walked by some of the boxes that remained from the move. He looked at a few of them and picked up one that was labeled kitchen. I watched as he disappeared with it. As if it wasn't enough that he helped raise my daughter, now he was going to unpack my belongings to make my house into a home. I sighed and rubbed my face as I tried to focus on what I had to do that evening.

I walked to the stairs and went up them easily, then walked all the way down the long hallway to the last room on the right. I opened the door to my private study and looked around the messy room full of boxes and unorganized furniture. I frowned slightly. I really needed to unpack around the entire house. I moved the desk back into the corner with my mind and then pulled up my desk chair. I took a seat as I snapped my fingers, making the file folder from the office appear on my desk. I opened it and looked at the sheets of paper in it closely.

The folder was a file on Harry Potter. It held papers concerning his current residents, his Muggle family, and private information like birth certificate, parental information and guardianship. There was also a copy of James and Lily's last will and testament. Obviously, they had left everything they had to Harry. The top piece of parchment was blue and had black ink on it. It was orders from Scrimgeour. I was to go check on the boy and bring him to Hogwarts before term started. The Minister did not want Harry Potter sitting in a Muggle home unprotected for the last few weeks of summer. At the bottom the note said, "Protect with any means." I frowned slightly. This meant if Sirius Black found us somehow I had the Ministry's permission to kill him. I sighed loudly and closed the folder. With a snap of my fingers it disappeared from the desk. It was going to be an interesting night.


	5. With Any Means

Surrey was quieter then I was expecting, and when I found my way to Privet Drive in Little Whinging I was overwhelmed with the cookie-cutter homes that lined the streets. I thought to myself that this would be a very boring place to live; with nosey Muggle neighbors no doubt. I wondered if Lily Potter had grown up in a neighborhood similar to this one, with alley paths between the blocks of houses, and parks in the center of the neighborhood.

I had never grown up in a neighborhood like this. My Mother probably felt that it was restricting to a creative environment because it was so normalized. My Mother had been a bit of an artistic hippy when I knew her growing up; she painted rooms in the house white so that I could color, draw, or paint them however I liked. She had a studio in the basement of the house, where she painted her own masterpieces. After her death I learned a great deal more about her past, but that didn't change that she spent sixteen years once I was born trying to make up for her dark mistakes. She volunteered with homeless shelters, was an active member in Muggle civil organizations, and worked part-time at the state Magical Ministry. No…growing up in a neighborhood like this would not have been acceptable for my Mother, and she probably wouldn't have been accepted in it either.

I walked down the dark quiet street looking for Number 4. I hoped that this evening would go over easily. The only thing I had to do was pick up Harry and deliver him to Hogwarts. Of course, I was prepared for the worst to happen…to be ambushed or attacked by Death Eaters (which was low risk) or Sirius Black (slightly higher risk). In theory, nothing should have gone wrong—so imagine my surprise when I arrived at Number 4 to find that Harry Potter was not there.

I had never met Lily's older sister Petunia; Lily had always made her out to be a horrible nosey close-minded individual. I had prepared for the worst when it came to meeting this woman. Apparently she hated magic and anything to do with it; she also hated Lily and James, even more then that she hated Harry. According to Lily, Petunia's husband Vernon wasn't the nicest person in the world either. I wasn't very happy when Dumbledore had sent Harry to live with his Aunt and Uncle on Privet Drive. First of all, I was named Harry's Godmother and given parental rights over Harry if anything were to happen to Lily and James. Dumbledore had felt that living with a non-magical family would be best for Harry. That way he'd be out of the spot light of being the Boy-Who-Lived, and would be able to grow up with a relatively normal childhood. My argument had been if Lily wanted Harry to live with Petunia she would have given her guardianship, not me. But Dumbledore's argument still held ground, and in the end he won.

The front door of Number 4 opened promptly when I rang the bell. A large, purple faced man opened the door, glaring at me with nasty beady eyes. I frowned slightly and stood my ground as he tried to intimidate me with his imposing body. His eyes turned to a look of fear when they fell on the wand stuck in my boot. I wasn't entirely sure if the fear was caused by the sight of my wand, or the knife that sat right next to it.

"Hello," I said reaching into the inside pocket of my sleeveless cloak. I pulled out an official looking letter that had been in my assignment file folder and extended it to the man. "You must be Mr. Vernon Dursley. I'm Cadence Coleman. I work for the Ministry of Magic in London—"

"Y-you're one of them?" he asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"Excuse me?" I responded slightly offended.

"You're here to fix this right mess!" he said with some annoyance. He turned and motioned for me to follow him into the house. I frowned slightly and followed him, unsure of what Dursley was referring too. My eyes opened wide with surprise when I entered the kitchen to see a skinny long faced woman, Petunia Dursley, on top of a dinning room chair, holding onto the ankle of a fat inflated woman who was floating up to the ceiling of the room.

I tried very hard not to smile as I looked up at the inflated woman who was screaming and trying to push away from the ceiling, but her chest was inflated so much that her arms could not reach it.

"Where is Harry?" I asked Vernon. "Upstairs?"

"He just ran out of here!" Petunia yelled. "That nasty child blew up Marge and just left!"

"He's gone?" I asked turning to Petunia with horror. "How could you just let him leave! There's a bloody mass murderer out to get him!"

"What else is new?" shrugged Vernon. "Hasn't there been one out for him since he was born?"

I shoved past him and made my way back to the front door. How could this have happened? This was supposed to be an easy assignment—and the damned boy had run away. He was more of a risk taker then I expected which was foolish of me. James had always been outgoing and fearless. I imagined Harry would be very similar; after all he had retrieved the Sorcerer's stone from the dungeons of Hogwarts, and saved a girl from the Chamber of Secrets last year.

"Wait!" Vernon said grabbing my arm. He swung me around and I gave him a very nasty glare. I lifted his hand off of me slowly and he took a step back. "You can't just leave her like that!"

"I'm sure that Ministry clean-up will be here within the hour," I said turning and leaving the house quickly. I had to find Harry Potter quickly, before someone else did.

By this time the sky was pitch black outside, which made me even more nervous. I sighed and smacked my hand against my head as I stood in the middle of the street in Little Whinging. I was a trained Auror; I could very well find a thirteen year old boy who could not legally perform magic and just ran away from home. If he had taken his school things with him he couldn't have gotten far.

I closed my eyes tightly and concentrated all of my energy on Harry. I didn't know him very well, but I prayed that just concentrating all of my energy on him would allow me to find him mentally with Legilimency, and then I would be able to Apparate to him. When I expanded my mind in Little Whinging I picked up every person's memories within a fifty mile radius. I had to sort through the rush of memories and emotions looking for those that would be specific to Harry Potter. It took awhile, but eventually I found him. After I saw the memories of a man wearing women's underwear, I found the memory of a green flash of light and a woman's scream. I recognized the woman's scream as that of Lily Potter. I opened my eyes and sighed with pain. Hearing Lily scream made my skin crawl. I had to focus. She would never forgive me if I didn't find her son. I Apparated on the spot.

The street I appeared on was across from the small park at the center of the neighborhood. I looked across the road to see a figure walking through the park, dragging a trunk and owl cage behind them. I smiled slightly, that must be him. He walked up to the wall that lined the entire street opposite me and sat down carefully, leaning his trunk against the wall. I hesitated for a moment as he bent over his trunk and began to rummage through it. I approached him slowly, knowing very well that Harry would not trust me—which was good, he shouldn't. As I approached I noticed how skinny he was because of how baggy his clothes were. I frowned deeply. It looked like his Aunt and Uncle were starving him and giving him hand me downs of the large fat boy I had seen in the kitchen at their house. They were neglecting him…was this Dumbledore's idea of protection?

I stopped abruptly when I reached the gate of the park because Harry had stood up

abruptly from his trunk. I followed the direction he was looking and saw a large black dog standing between the garage of a house and the wall. My heart plummeted into my stomach as I recognized the dog. I jumped over the fence and pulled my wand from my boot. Harry lit the tip of his wand, probably thinking that it was a stray cat in the alley…not a monstrous black dog, that wasn't really a dog at all.

"Harry!" I yelled as he fell back over his trunk. He threw his hand out and there was the sound of tires grinding on pavement approaching. I reached Harry and grabbed him, pausing only for a moment as if I was looking at ghost. Harry looked just like his Father, but with Lily's emerald green eyes. I turned back to the alley and flicked my wand, sending light flashing. There was a small explosion and I saw the dog run off away from the garage where it had been hiding. I dashed after it, but I ran at the wall Harry had been leaning on, I realized that he was gone. The dog was gone.

"Who the heck are you!" Harry said when I returned to him and pulled him up.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard—" said a pimply teenager stepping down from the bright purple triple decker Knight Bus that had pulled up next to the curb.

"Get on the bus," I said shoving Harry towards the bus in a rush. He tripped again, obviously not very fast on his feet, and fell to the curb where the pimply teenager had just stepped down.

"What are you doing on the ground, mate?" he asked.

"Well I didn't get down intentionally," Harry said dusting himself off. "What is that?"

"The Knight Bus," said the kid. "I'm Stan Shunpike, conductor of the Knight Bus."

"Great, nice to meet you," I said grabbing Harry's trunk. "Come on, let's go."

"Whoa," said Harry grabbing his trunk from my hand. "I don't know you. I'm not going anywhere with you."

I sighed with some annoyance and pulled the letter that I was going to show the Dursley's out of my cloak pocket. I handed it to Harry, who looked it over shortly, but still looked up at me with skepticism. I snapped my fingers and with a light pop a photo appeared in my hands. I looked at it with a sad frown and then extended it to Harry, who took it slowly. He bit his bottom lip and nodded his head as he stared down at the picture of me and Lily Potter, leaning together cheek to cheek as I took a picture of us while she held a newborn Harry.

"Hey, what's that on your head?" Stan asked Harry.

"Nothing," Harry said brushing his hair in front of his face. It looked like a habit, something he did often subconsciously. I frowned slightly and took Harry's shoulder, pulling him away from the Knight Bus for a moment.

"Excuse us for a moment," I said to Stan. Harry and I stepped a few feet away and he immediately questioned me.

"How long did you know my Mother?" he asked offering the picture back to me. I took it and slipped it into the inside pocket of my cloak.

"About five years," I whispered. "We met when we were in our sixth year once I moved here. The last time I saw her was your first birthday, before you all went into hiding."

He nodded his head slowly. "And what do you want now?"

"Well," I sighed slightly. "Like it says in that letter, I'm your Godmother."

"So?" he questioned, interrupting me.

"So, I'm here to take you to Hogwarts early," I said with some annoyance. I did not appreciate his tone, despite understanding why he was being so lippy. "The Minister and Dumbledore want you to go there."

Harry was studying me very seriously. "How about, since I don't know you," he said. "We got the Leaky Cauldron."

"What?" I looked at him confused. "Why?"

"Because I don't trust you," he said turning and going back to the bus.

"What'd you say your name was?" Stan asked when Harry returned to the bus, dragging his trunk with him.

"I didn't," Harry responded.

"Well then what is it?"

Harry hesitated for a moment. "Neville Longbottom."

A piece of my heart broke when Harry said that name. I had known Neville Longbottom's parents, Alice and Frank. They were members of the Order, good people. I had read in a paper that shortly after Harry's defeat over my Father Bellatrix LeStrange and her husband had been caught torturing the Longbottom's. They were tortured until they lost their minds.

I grabbed Harry's owl cage and made to follow him on the bus.

"This lady giving you trouble, Neville?" Stan asked puffing his chest out at me. I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"No not really," Harry said after a second.

"I will give _you_ trouble, _Stan_, if you don't mind your own business," I said crossly. He stepped aside with a huff and bid me entry to the bus. Stan showed us to a set of beds near the front of the bus. Harry sat down on one and sighed loudly. I took a seat in an arm chair next to the bed and crossed my arms over my chest, observing the other passenger's on the bus. The entire ride I remained quiet, allowing Harry to talk with Stan.

"That man! He was on the Muggle news!" Harry blurted suddenly. I sat up straight and looked at him with concern. Harry was looking at the front page of the newspaper Stan was reading. I frowned slightly; he was pointing to Sirius Black's picture.

"Sirius Black," Stan said. "Of course he's been on the Muggle news, where've you been Neville?"

Stan shook his head as he laughed lightly to himself. He pulled the front page of the paper off and handed it to Harry who looked confused.

"You should read the paper more, Neville," Stan said then disappeared behind his paper again. I leaned over towards Harry who was reading the article quickly.

"That's the reason I came to get you," I said point to the picture of my ex boyfriend. Harry looked up at me with confused eyes.

"He really killed thirteen people?" he asked softly.

"With one curse," I said nodding my head. I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes sadly. I could feel Harry's eyes on me; he could see that there was more about Black then him killing thirteen people that bothered me. I didn't know how much Harry knew about Sirius—like the fact that Sirius was his Godfather, and that he had betrayed Harry's parents; obviously he didn't know that Sirius and I were together for nearly five years.

"Scary looking ain't he?" said Stan poking into our conversation. "People say he was a big follower of You-Know-Who—"

"You mean Voldemort?" Harry questioned. I smacked my forehead the moment he said my Father's name. Stan looked like he was about to have a heart attack and the driver of the Knight Bus swerved in the street.

"What'cha doing saying his name!" Stan snapped. "My heart is racing!"

"Sorry, sorry," Harry said quickly. "So…you were saying that Black was a follower of You-Know-Who?"

Stan shook his head. "Could have bloody killed us…" He sat up straight and sighed slightly, then continued with his story. "They say that when You-Know-Who was destroyed by little Harry Potter—" Harry subconscious patted down the front of his hair again. "—that all of his Death Eaters started to go into hiding, or turned themselves in all quiet like, but not Sirius Black. Nope, no he didn't. He thought he was second in command or something with You-Know-Who gone."

I was looking at Stan with high eyebrows. This was the most ridiculous story I had ever heard. First of all, Sirius was about to flew the country when Gabriel caught him. He was definitely keeping quiet, trying to disappear. Secondly, my Father had no second in command. My Father made many people believe that they were his most loyal follower, but he didn't have one. He was completely independent and he always would be.

"Anyway, they corned Black on a Muggle street, full of Muggles in the bright of day," Stan said leaning forward. "And what does Black do? He blows half the street up! Killing one wizard and twelve Muggles. You know what he did then?"

"What?" Harry asked eagerly. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"_Laughed_," Stan said after a moment of silence, as if he were pausing for dramatic effect. "He just laughed until they carted him off to Azkaban. He's mad, I'm telling you."

I could only stare at Stan. Was this the story that the papers had released? That the Ministry had released _to_ the papers? I was going to have serious words with someone about the story because it was absolutely ridiculous—although there wasn't much they could do about it now, twelve years after the story had been created.

After that Harry and Stan grew silent. I sighed and leaned back in my chair, watching Harry who looked very nervous.

"You alright, Neville?" I asked. I was weird calling him Neville, but obviously I couldn't call him Harry.

"Yea," he said. "Just a little…nervous."

"Don't worry about your Aunt," I said suspecting that he was nervous about performing illegal magic on his Aunt Marge. "I'm sure the Minister will understand."

"What?" Harry questioned. I smiled and patted his shoulder. "Try and get some rest."

"Hey, Neville, where you headed?" Stan asked.

"Diagon Alley," Harry said once he glanced at me.

"What are you going to do once we get to the Leaky Cauldron?" I asked.

"Write to Dumbledore," he said instantly. "Ask about you…"

"Alright," I whispered. "Whatever you want."

I had to show Harry that he could trust me. If he wanted to go to the Leaky Cauldron to write to Dumbledore that was fine. I didn't blame him; and I was actually proud that he would check up on me before traveling a long distant with me. Harry was very smart and I was sure just from the few moments I had spent with him so far that he would make a spectacular wizard some day.

We arrived at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley shortly after that. Stan helped Harry with his luggage and I followed them off the bus.

"Harry," said a voice with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Minister!" I said with surprise.

The Minister himself stood before Harry and I; he looked cold and tired, which didn't surprise me, it had been quiet a day.

"Hello Miss Coleman," said Fudge with a slight glare to me. "Aren't you supposed to be taking Mr. Potter to Hogwarts?"

"Well yes, Sir," I said. "Things didn't go as planned—"

"I expect a full report on my desk tomorrow," Fudge said with annoyance. "I don't understand how a thirteen year old boy could get away from a fully trained Auror, especially one of your qualifications."

I frowned deeply. The Minister's words were uncalled for. Harry had run away before he was my responsibility. And I had found him! I made to speak, but I bit my own tongue as Harry looked up at me with sad eyes.

"You believe me now?" I asked softly.

"Yea," he nodded. "I wasn't sure if I could trust Cadence, Minister. We agreed to come here so I could write to Dumbledore before I traveled with her. She didn't do anything wrong—"

"That's alright Harry," Fudge said. "Come on, let's get inside. You're excused Miss Coleman, see you tomorrow."

I sighed and shrugged. "Very well. Good evening to both of you." I looked at Harry and pulled the picture of me and his Mother out of my pocket. "It was a pleasure Mr. Potter." I handed him the picture and turned on my heel, walking away in the gloomy night. At least Harry was safe, that was all that mattered.

What I had seen earlier that night in the alley near the park finally sunk in as I walked home. In the calm of the night I was able to think and review what had happened. I frowned as I walked in the rain. Should I put in my report that I had seen a massive black dog watching Harry in the park? Should I report that I had seen Sirius Black, in his unregistered Animagus form? Was I even sure that the dog in the alley had been Sirius? It had been ages since I'd seen Sirius as a dog. I honestly think the last time I had seen him like that was when we were still in school, about fifteen years ago. I probably shouldn't put it in the report unless I was one hundred percent sure of what I had seen.

I sighed as I reached the block that Gabriel's apartment was on. As I walked by it, I looked up and remembered the short time I had lived here after Sirius had left me. I stopped in front of the gate of Gabriel's home and looked up at the empty house. There was a prickle up my spine, making me think that someone was watching me. I turned and saw a tall skinny man standing on the other side of the street. My breath caught in my throat and I stepped into the street without looking. The sound of a screeching horn erupted. I froze in shock as a Muggle car sped at me. I dived out of the way, but the car clipped me, knocking me onto the ground. I rolled across the cement into the gutter as the car slammed on its brakes, stopping near by.

I groaned in pain, feeling my body ache all over from the impact of the car. I looked up as someone fell to their knees next to me. Those dark midnight blue eyes were unmistakable. Reaching up, I grabbed onto Sirius Black's collar. He pulled away and jumped off as a Muggle ran towards us. I rolled on my side, watching Sirius as he ran off down the street and disappeared into an alley. I sighed, holding my side and took a long breath as I stood up.

"Hey, hey," said a Muggle man grabbing me. "Are you okay? Sit down, you shouldn't be on your feet—"

"I'm fine," I said as I gritted my teeth together. I could feel my insides flipping. I was going to throw up from the throbbing pain in my sides and legs. I grabbed my knees and bent over, throwing up on the Muggle's shoes. I sighed with embarrassment and stood up straight, feeling mildly better.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered as he held onto my arm. He smiled at me.

"It's only fair, since I hit you with my car," he shrugged. The man was very attractive; tall with sandy blonde hair falling in front his dark blue eyes. He had a sharp jaw and clean shaven face. "What were you doing in the middle of the street?"

"I thought I saw someone," I sighed as I fell backwards, off balance. The man held onto me tightly and lowered me down to the curb.

"I think you should go to the hospital—"

"No!" I said crossly. "Thank you for your help, but you've done enough. You can go. I won't press charges."

The man raised his eyebrows at me. "Alright," he said bewildered. "Well is there someone I can call for you?"

"No," I shook my head as I held my side. It hurt to breathe; I was sure I had broken my ribs, again. It was amazing I had any ribs left. The man knelt down next to me and reached for my side. I grabbed his hand instinctively and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"I was just going to feel if your ribs were broken," he whispered. "My name is Jonathan Clover, I'm a medic."

I frowned nodding my head. I laid back on the sidewalk as Jonathan Clover's Muggle hands touched my sides. I gasped in pain and recoiled from him when he touched just under my breast on my left side.

"Yea, that's definitely broken," he said. "You need to go to the hospital. I'll drive you."

"No, no," I sighed as gasped for breath. I closed my eyes and concentrated on Gabriel with all my might. I needed him to come get me…I needed to channel him with Legilimency. It was so difficult to focus while I lay on the cement in pain, and Muggle blabbering about how I had to go to the hospital. I bit my lip and focused—I had been in worse situations. Being hit by a car was nothing…

_Gabriel!_

In the distance I heard the faint crack of someone Apparating near by. I was surprised with how quickly Gabriel had responded, but I wasn't going to complain.

"Cadence!" he called from far away. I turned my head to my right and saw Gabriel running down the sidewalk towards me. "You! Get your hands off her!"

Jonathan pulled away instantly and raised his hands in the air. I frowned slightly; I hadn't expected Gabriel to respond like that. I felt a little guilty, it wasn't Jonathan's fault that he had hit me with the car and he was just trying to be nice by helping me.

"Gabriel," I sighed. "It's fine…he's just helping…"

"Looks like he molesting you," Gabriel said grabbing Jonathan and pulling him to his feet.

"Gabriel!" I yelled sitting up. I cursed loudly as pain seared up my side. I grabbed my side and curled over, groaning.

"I was just trying to help her man," Jonathan said nervously. "She jumped in front of my car, I side swiped her…she has some broken ribs."

Gabriel released Jonathan. "Get out of here."

Jonathan gave me one last glance, but then turned and ran back to his car. I looked up at Gabriel with a frank smile.

"You're so charming," I said.

"Shut up," he said bending down and scooping me up in his arms. I gasped as he held me, touching my damaged ribs. "What the bloody hell are you doing outside of my apartment, in the middle of the street? Why'd you jump in front of his car?"

"Sirius was across the street, I didn't look before I went to chase after him," I sighed as Gabriel carried me across the street to his apartment. He mounted the steps and I opened the front door for him with a key he kept on a chain around his neck. Once we were inside his apartment he Apparated me home.

There was a single candle light on the kitchen counter when we arrived. I sighed slightly when Gabriel carried me all the way upstairs to my bedroom.

"I could have walked up here," I said.

"Shut up," he said to me for the second time that night. He placed me gently on the bed and pulled out his wand as I light the candle in the room with my mind. The flames danced as I took off my cloak and shirt. I laid back in the bed and let Gabriel poke me with his wand, tapping and repairing my damaged ribs.

"Do you still have that brace you wore thirteen or so years ago?" he asked.

"Probably, but I won't wear it," I sighed, gasping each time he poked me hard with his wand. Repairing bones was not an easy or painless job. It hurt more to repair them then it did to break them. I cried out suddenly when there was a crack from the rib repositioning itself. I looked down at my body with frustration. The entire left side of my torso was already bruising.

"He really clipped you good," Gabriel said.

"Carrigan is in bed?" I asked with another gasp.

"Yes," he nodded. "So keep your voice down."

"Stop poking me so hard," I snipped. Gabriel smiled at me with passion filled green eyes. I don't know when they had changed color, but as he looked at me in the candle light, with my shirt off, I could only see an emerald tint in his irises. I sighed and laid back in the pillows. I was frustrated that I had been hit by a Muggle car—did this show dedication or what? I'd jump in front of a moving vehicle if it meant catching Sirius Black.

"Or it just shows how dumb you are," Gabriel said. I glared at him for reading my mind and he laughed. "I think that will do it." He stood up and I thanked him. "I'll sleep on the couch again."

"Good night," I said sorely remaining in the bed. Once he left the bedroom I blinked my eyes and the candles went out. My body ached from the injuries, but so did my heart. Seeing Sirius up close, him touching me…it sent chills through my body and broke down a part of my heart I thought I had shut down.

I rolled on my right side and pulled a pillow against my body as tears took over my eyes. I had loved him all this time, despite everything—him leaving me, betraying my friends and me—I had to. Everyday I looked at Carrigan and I saw him; my heart hurt so much for him that eventually I just shut down. I had turned cold and rigid…but when he touched me in the street just then all feeling returned—and it hurt. The loving memories I had blocked from my heart hurt too much to handle, causing me to cry into the pillow sheets that night. I was still madly in love with Sirius Black…I probably would be for the rest of my life, with any means.


	6. The Strongest

The next morning I woke up and looked at the clock across from my bed. I was surprised to see that it said eleven twenty four. This made me frown deeply and sit up. I grabbed my stomach with a groan of pain and fell back in the bed remembering suddenly why I had slept in so late. The shades were pulled tightly shut on the windows, not letting any light in, giving the allusion that it was still late at night. I sighed, despite desperately wanting to go to bed where pain did not exist in my sleep; I got up and began to move around the room.

There was a knock on my daughter, and before I could answer Carrigan came in carrying a tray with breakfast food on it and a black brace folded under her arm. I stood up straight with a wince in pain as she put the tray on the bed.

"Hi Mom," she said unfolding the brace and handing it to me. "Gabriel wanted me to give you that. He went into work already."

"Thank you," I sighed as I ate some of the fruit off out of the bowl on the tray. Carrigan stood patiently.

"Are you okay, Mom?" she asked.

I looked at her and frowned slightly, but nodded my head. "Yea. Just peachy."

"Gabriel said I have to watch you put that thing on," she said. "He said you probably wouldn't wear it otherwise. And if you don't wear it I am to write to him that way he can catch you at work and put it on—"

"Alright, alright," I sighed going into the closet to change my clothes and put the stupid corset like torso brace on. I did not like how my own child and Gabriel were parenting me. It was a little discouraging, and rather annoying. I put on blue jeans, the brace, a new bra, and a black tight long sleeve shirt. I came out of the bedroom and Carrigan stood at the bed still with her arms crossed over her chest. I lifted my shirt to show that I was wearing the brace. She smiled and sat down on the bed, eating some of the breakfast food she had brought up. Now she could be a kid again.

"What happened last night?" she asked. "Gabriel wouldn't tell me."

"I got hit by a Muggle car," I said slowly.

"While you were getting Harry?" Carrigan asked curiously.

"How'd you know I was going to get Harry?"

"Gabriel let it slip," Carrigan shrugged.

I sighed and rolled my eyes as I went to the dresser and brushed my hair carefully. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail as I looked at Carrigan in the mirror.

"Gabriel doesn't let things slip, Carrigan," I said.

She frowned at me, knowing that I had caught her in her lie.

"We were practicing Legilimency," she sighed. "I didn't mean to find out, but I just did."

Once my hair was up in a ponytail I walked to Carrigan and sat down next to her on the bed. She was eating a piece of toast, but I took her free hand and held it on my lap as I tucked her brown curls behind her ear.

"With great power comes great responsibility, Carrigan," I whispered. "I know you are eager to learn, which I encourage, but you have to make sure that you have mastered the skills you already know before you continue learning. Legilimency if very difficult, and I am very proud of what you have already achieved, but you have to be careful with it…when I was fifteen and Gabriel had taught me Legilimency, I accidentally used it on Remus. That is how I discovered he was a werewolf. I invaded his privacy and betrayed his trust as a friend. We have to be careful how we use our powers."

Carrigan nodded her head in understanding. "I couldn't help it though," she whispered. "I was looking for something to use against him, he had me pinned and I needed something to get him off me."

This comment made me frown deeply. "That is not why you should use Legilimency."

"Well then what should I use it for?" she questioned.

"Frankly, you shouldn't be using it. You're eleven you have no reason to use it," I said with some annoyance. Carrigan frowned at me and pulled her hand from mine. I sighed and folded my hands on my lap. "Gabriel taught you Legilimency because he wants you to also learn Occlumency, which is harder to master and much more important. It's easier to know how to block people from your mind when you know the methods to get in."

"You don't think he should have taught me at all," Carrigan said shaking her head.

"No," I responded. "I just think we should have waited to teach you."

Carrigan looked at me with angry eyes. I frowned deeply, knowing the angry look in her dark blue eyes too well. I had received it a great deal from Sirius in the last months of our relationship. It was moments like these where she reminded me of her Father entirely; but when Gabriel was on the receiving end of her angry glare he always said she looked like a miniature version of me.

"Carrigan no matter when he taught you, you'd have to be responsible for your actions," I said. "You shouldn't use Legilimency to get leverage to use against someone. You use Legilimency when you can't trust someone. I do not want to hear about you using your powers inappropriately at Hogwarts. You are very gifted, but you have to be responsible for your powers; you can use them on your peers or teachers. And I don't want to hear about you showing off—"

"You think I would Mom?" she questioned with hurt eyes.

"No," I shook my head. "As a parent I just had to say it."

Carrigan nodded and leaned against me. "What if nobody likes me because of my powers?" I could hear the fear in her voice and I frowned deeply as I wrapped my arm around her. I rubbed her arm up and down and leaned my head on her.

"Nobody has to know, Carrigan," I whispered. "Only tell those that you trust and only practice if Gabriel comes to give you lessons. Don't use them unless you have to, and honestly she shouldn't have to."

She sat up and looked at me. "Do you think Gabriel will come give me lessons?"

I gave her a steady smile. "I don't think so, not yet. Maybe in your third or forth year. You have to stay physically fit too. More training over the summer, jogging, push-ups and sit-ups."

"Right," Carrigan nodded. "If I have control of my body I will have control of my emotions better. Physical, emotional, and mental strength all go hand in hand."

"Do you remember everything Gabriel tells you?" I asked with a smile.

"Well, its important isn't it?"

"Yes," I nodded. "It is."

"Don't you think I can work-out on the weekends at school?" she asked.

I frowned slightly. "With your Father on the loose I'd rather you not be alone, even on the grounds."

Carrigan frowned. "Alright."

"Speaking of your Father," I whispered with a soft sigh. I was regretting the conversation I had to have with her about her name. "I don't think you want to be advertising that Sirius Black is in fact your Father."

Carrigan nodded. "I wasn't planning on it. But people won't know or anything. It's not like I have his last name."

I bit my bottom lip. "But people know our name, Carrigan. And lots of people knew that your Father and I were together. I was suspected for the crimes he committed just because I was with him. That's why I moved to America."

Carrigan was looking at me with serious eyes. She was taking in all of my words with a relatively calm demeanor….she probably wouldn't be so calm when I said that I wanted to change her last name.

"And if your Father found out about you…well I can't even imagine how he will react," I sighed. "I think Sirius lost his marbles a bit when I turned down his marriage proposal—"

"Why did you?" Carrigan interrupted. I frowned slightly and looked at her. She was looking at me with dark desperate eyes now. "I know that now it doesn't matter, because he turned out to be a Death Eater anyways…but why didn't you? You didn't know then what he was…"

I sighed and looked at the carpet of my bedroom. "I was afraid of being married when my Father was in power. I was afraid that if Sirius and I got married we would then start a family…Carrigan at the time I could barely take care of myself…let alone a baby. I was scared that my life would spin out of control if I married your Father that young. I loved him…I wanted to marry him…I just didn't want to then…" My voice trailed off and Carrigan took my hand squeezing it.

"Do you still love him?" she whispered.

I looked at her and forced a smile. "I wish I didn't…it wouldn't hurt so much."

"So, that's really why you and Gabriel aren't together?" she questioned. "You still love my Father…"

"Gabriel and I have always had a complicated relationship."

"He told me last night," Carrigan nodded. "Well, I kept asking him why you two hadn't dated, and why you said it didn't work out."

I gave Carrigan a cross look and she returned my glare with a guilty smile and shrug. "I couldn't help it Mom. It just doesn't make sense to me how you two can appear to love each other so much and yet you're not together."

"I know," I whispered. "It's because it's complicated."

"Is it though?" Carrigan asked looking at me with confused eyes. "How complicated can it be to love someone?"

"It's not complicated to love someone," I responded. "It's complicated when you love two someones…and I love your Father and Gabriel."

"But obviously you can't be with Dad," Carrigan said still confused. "Why not be with Gabriel?"

I frowned and bit my bottom lip. I didn't know how to explain it to her because I didn't really know how to explain it to myself. I justified my actions of not being with Gabriel by saying I didn't want to break my pride…but what was worth more to me, my pride or being loved for the rest of my life?

"Gabriel and I will love each other for the rest of our lives, even if we're both with other people," I whispered. "We're cursed with that twist of fate because we broke the first law of Guardianship. It's too complicated now for us to be together. Our relationship has seen and been through so much that now...well it'd be toxic."

Carrigan still looked confused and I frowned, tapping her thigh. "Don't worry about it, Carrigan. You'll give yourself a headache."

"Well, I just want you happy Mom," Carrigan said. "And Gabriel makes you happy."

I nodded my head. "Sometimes…sometimes he also makes me very angry."

Carrigan smiled. "I think that's his nature."

I blinked as we both settled into a silence. How had we gotten so off topic? I was supposed to be talking to Carrigan about changing her name.

"Anyways, Carrigan," I said quickly. "I got off topic…I wanted to talk to you about your safety at school, and well, in general."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Carrigan, I'm worried that you're in danger from your Father and possibly Grandfather because of your last name. I think if we change your last name it will be harder to find you, and hopefully you won't be in so much danger."

"But Grandpa is dead," she whispered.

I frowned and shook my head. "You know that I don't believe that."

It was her turn to frown. "Alright…but how will changing my name keep me safe?"

"Everyone knows that Coleman means daughter of the Dark Lord," I responded. "If any Death Eater gets wind of your name you will be in danger. You need to keep your identity as Sirius Black's daughter and Voldemort's granddaughter a secret. The best way to do that is to change your last name."

"But my last name," Carrigan shook her head as the conversation sunk in. "It's my name, Mom!"

"I know," I said quickly. "And I know you take great pride in our name…but this is about your safety, Carrigan."

She stared at me blankly. "I will only change it if I can change it to Quintin."

I was not expecting this response and stared at her dumbfounded. I shouldn't have been surprised. Of course she would want to take Gabriel's name; she viewed him as her Father figure.

"That wouldn't make you any safer," I whispered. "Not to Sirius when he finds out that you're my daughter with Quintin as your last name, and not to my Father. Voldemort would be just as happy to kill Gabriel's children as he would be to kill Gabriel."

"Why would Dad care if I had Gabriel's last name?" Carrigan asked. She was not going to let the topic of Gabriel and I go.

"Your Father thought that I had cheated on him with Gabriel," I whispered sadly. "He did not understand the Guardian-Student relationship Gabriel and I had, and how it affected our lives."

"But you did love Gabriel, Mom," Carrigan said looking a little confused. I sighed and rubbed my head.

"I know," I responded. "But I loved your Father more."

"Why?" Carrigan said with some frustration. "He sounds like an ass…I mean, okay sure, I get that you used to love him…but how can you still love him? He killed lots of people, he betrayed your best friends—he betrayed you!"

I sighed and looked at her with tired eyes. "It's very complicated, Carrigan. The only answer I can give you is that I don't know. The only reason I can think of is because he gave me you and that is something I will always be thankful for."

Carrigan nodded and wrapped her arms around my center, squeezing me gently because of my ribs. I wrapped my arm around her back and rubbed it softly.

"How did we get off the topic of changing your name again?" I asked.

Carrigan laughed as she pulled away. "I don't know. But I really don't want to, Mom. Would it be so bad to be Carrigan Quintin?"

"It would defeat the purpose," I whispered shaking my head. "Like I said, your Father would probably kill me because he jumps to conclusions like that. And it won't protect you from Voldemort at all."

"Well then I'm not changing my name," Carrigan shrugged standing up off the bed. "I'll just have to deal with the risk and possible harassment. I can take it Mom."

"A few minutes ago you were worried about your peers learning about who you were," I said carefully. I wanted to make sure that she was thinking the entire situation through.

"I'm worried they won't like me because of my powers," Carrigan corrected. "I'm worried they'll think I'm a freak."

"Your powers are part of who you are. They will think you have powers like me because you're my daughter, because of your name."

Carrigan frowned and nodded her head. "Alright, that's a valid point. But I don't want to run form who I am, Mom. I feel like that's what you're asking me to do."

"Alright," I said. "I won't make you do it. Just promise that you've thought it through entirely. I just want to make sure that you're safe, Carrigan."

She sighed and put her hands on her hips, giving me a smart look. "Now you're trying to guilt me into it."

"No," I said standing up. "Seriously, I want you to make this decision because it's your name. It's an important decision and I want you to think it through thoroughly."

"Fine," she nodded. "I'll think about it more, but I'm sure I won't change my mind."

"That's fine," I said smiling. "You wouldn't be my daughter if you weren't stubborn."

Carrigan laughed and came to me, embracing me tightly. I held her close and brushed her hair as I kissed her head. "We're strong girls, Mom," she said to me.

"The strongest," I said still holding her.


	7. Endless Struggle

When I arrived at the Ministry that afternoon Gabriel looked angry with me. He somehow managed to be waiting for the lift when I arrived at our department. He was standing there, in his pin strip suit and waistcoat, his white button up shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, with his arms crossed over his chest. All of his muscles seemed to be flexed, tensed as he stood his ground, waiting for me to get off the lift as dozens of other people moved around us, coming and going on the lift.

I frowned deeply at him, feeling as if I were a small child in serious trouble for stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. I gave Gabriel a nasty glare as I stopped in front of him, his dark eyes looking directly at me. It occurred to me as I stared up at him that he may not be angry with me, something else could have happened that didn't involve me at all.

"What's wrong?" I asked relaxing my face, trying to think of something I would have done to annoy him.

"It's three in the afternoon," he said as I began to walk down the hall towards the department. Gabriel followed me, keeping his arms cross over his chest. I frowned slightly as I glanced up at him. Was he really mad that I had come in this late?

"Yes," I whispered. "I woke up late. Remember, I was hit by a car last night?"

"Yea, I remember," he said. "You didn't say you had paper work to file for the Minister today."

"Slipped my mind," I said honestly. "Honestly, Gabriel you're not this upset that I came in late when I have paperwork to do. What's going on?"

Gabriel opened the giant oak doors to our department and we began to walk towards are cubicle. When we turned the corner, heading for our back cubicle, and overwhelming crowd of people stood outside of it. I stopped dead in my tracks, causing Gabriel to run into me. He put his hands on my shoulders.

"Now do you see why I'm upset?" he questioned.

All the people standing outside of the cubicle were members of the wizarding paparazzi. Like raving wolves, they craved a deep dark story full of twist and turns that the public would love—and let's be honest, my story was pretty damn enticing. I was Sirius Black's ex-lover and mother of his child, Voldemort's daughter, and Harry Potter's Godmother. I was the center of a cluster of potential juicy stories; and I always had been. The paparazzi had invaded Hogwarts once in my seventh year when it was revealed that I was Voldemort's daughter. I was surprised they had laid off after that, but they had mostly in fear. They were afraid I was a Death Eater and that I would kill them with a flick of my wand if they tried to snap pictures of me.

"Why are they here?" I asked nervously. I was more afraid of the paparazzi then Death Eaters.

"Want to know all about you," Gabriel shrugged. "You know, it's a big deal you being Voldemort's daughter and an Auror; Sirius Black's ex and Carrigan's Mother; and you're one of the Head Aurors on his case; and Harry Potter's Godmother—"

"I get it," I said turning around and shoving him backwards. He smiled and shook his head as he walked backwards, then turned and began to lead me back the way we had come. "My life would be an award winning novel. Come on let's go to Scrimgeour's office."

"You're lucky they didn't see you," Gabriel said, his anger suddenly gone. He thought this situation was funny now that he had seen my response. "They can smell fear."

"I'm not afraid of them," I retorted as we walked briskly through the aisles of cubicles heading for the other side of the department. I kept looking over my shoulder back at the crowd of heads that could be seen by our cubicle.

"Really?" Gabriel smirked. I punched his shoulder.

"Why didn't you warn me?" I snapped with frustration.

He shrugged lazily. "I wanted to see your reaction."

"The last time this happened you protected me," I hissed.

"You were younger then," he responded. I sighed and rolled my eyes as we reached the large oak door that lead to Scrimgeour's office. His secretary was not at her desk in front of the door, which was peculiar; and as I banged on the office door no answer came.

"Think you could get away from us," said a voice. I turned sharply and saw a skinny, relatively attractive blonde haired wizard standing near by. He was holding a pad of paper in his hand and a magically quill floated over his shoulder. I frowned deeply and gave the handsome man an ugly glare. "You're death glares don't phase me, Miss Coleman. I've received worse from ex girlfriends."

"Ex girlfriends," I repeated. "So, you're single? None of your exs were willing to stay?"

The man's charming smile turned to a frown and he glared at me for making the rather nasty comment about his personal life. If he was going to poke into my life, I was going to insult his. I thought it was fair. I put my hands on my hips and continued to stare him down.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I finally asked.

"His name is Carmen Legacy," Gabriel answered before the wizard could. "He writes for the Daily Prophet, in the gossip section."

"Actually," Legacy said with some annoyance. "I'm no longer writing gossip. I'm writing fact. I plan on breaking this story about Miss Coleman—"

"What story?" I questioned interrupting the irritating man.

"Please Miss Coleman," he sighed dramatically. "You're one of the most famous people in our world, right next to Harry Potter, You-Know-Who and Sirius Black. You're a household name just like them…and yet somehow your story has never really been printed."

"There isn't a story," I said ruthlessly. "Maybe you should be focusing on the fact that Sirius Black escaped Azkaban, which has never happened in history before and is supposed to be impossible—"

"I'm much more interested in what Sirius Black has to do with you," Legacy said looking at me with light blue eyes that held dark secrets. I frowned deeply, standing up straight to my full height, which was about 5'9'' in the high heels I was wearing. Legacy was a few inches taller then me, but I wasn't going to let him think he could push me around. He couldn't really…considering I could make him disintegrate into a million pieces with a blink of my eyes.

"Nothing," I responded slowly to make sure he heard me.

"I don't believe that," he whispered leaning in close to me. "I just have to find one person to spill Miss Coleman; one person who knows just enough to ruin you. You're boyfriend back there won't break, but that doesn't mean somebody else won't."

"Are you threatening me?" I whispered back. "I don't take kindly to threats, Mr. Legacy." I patted his chest and stood up straight. "If you try to ruin me, I will massacre you."

Legacy stood up straight smirking, no fear shined in his eyes. He took my response as a challenge. He wanted to ruin me to see what I would do. This was all a game to him.

"It's no secret that you and Sirius Black used to be a couple," Legacy shrugged. "And your daughter was born about six months after Black went to Azkaban…it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who's child she is, she has her Father's eyes—"

I grabbed Legacy's collar and slammed him against the wall violently. He groaned and dropped his paper pad and the quill that had been floating over his shoulder fell to the ground.

"Cadence!" snapped Gabriel as paparazzi came around the corner, snapping pictures of me pinning Legacy to the wall.

"You don't threaten my daughter," I hissed. "You come after me all you want, but you leave her out of this. If you so much as print a picture of her I will murder you myself—"

"Are you threatening a member of the local press?" Legacy asked. His magical quill sprang to life on the ground next to me and began to scribble on the paper pad that lay uselessly on the ground.

I slammed Legacy against the wall again and stomped my booted foot on the quill and paper pad. The quill snapped in half under my boot and Legacy glared at me viciously. His eyes were so dark I thought he was trying to burn a hole into my skull.

"You threatened my daughter," I hissed.

Legacy ignored my response, and continued to smile at me like a dark disgusting bug. I wanted to squish him like one.

"Why were you in Little Whinging last night Miss Coleman?"

"I was on official Ministry business, that I'm not permitted to speak about," I responded. "If you'd like to know the details of my assignment you can speak to my supervisor."

"Did your official business involve meeting Sirius Black in north London?" he asked. "Across the street from Gabriel Quintin's apartment?"

"What?" I looked at him confused. How could he possibly have known about that?

"Alright, that's enough," said Gabriel coming forward. He grabbed Legacy from me and shoved him down the aisle towards his fellow members of the paparazzi who were still snapping pictures, yelling questions, and writing frantically. Gabriel took my arm and dragged me off back towards the lifts.

"How did they know about that?" I asked as the paparazzi followed us. I looked over my shoulder, trying to see through the blinding flashing lights of the magical cameras. In the crowd of news people I thought I saw a familiar face…a sandy blonde haired man with dark blue eyes…Gabriel pulled me onto the lift before I could study the crowd better.

"It doesn't matter how they found out," he said shaking his head and pacing in the elevator. "I didn't realize it was this bad." He pushed the button for the Minister's floor several times as if pushing it over and over again would make the lift go faster. He was making me nervous because he didn't stop moving.

"How bad did you think it was?" I questioned.

"I just assumed they got word of you going to pick up Harry," Gabriel shrugged. "They showed up here at about two while I was out on lunch. I got back about twenty minutes before you and they just kept asking me questions about your whereabouts. But if they know about last night then they're following you—which is really bad."

"Yea, I know it's really bad," I said harshly. "Of course it's really bad!"

"Stop freaking out."

I sighed and put my head in my hands. "Does the Minister know they're here already?"

"We're about to find out," Gabriel said as the doors of the lift opened. We stepped out onto the floor as two more lifts arrived, sure enough the paparazzi was following us. "Damn vultures. You're taking a portkey from the Minister's office. Let's hope they don't know where you live yet."

Gabriel grabbed my arm and we walked quickly down the halls towards the Minister's office. When we approached his desk, his secretary saw us coming and stood up.

"He's in a meeting, Mr. Quintin, I'm afraid he can't see you now—"

"It's an emergency," said Gabriel moving past her and dragging me with him. I didn't say anything to the poor secretary who turned away from us with frustration once we passed her and let out a small gasp at the crowd of people following us. Gabriel didn't even knock on the Minister's door; he just marched straight in like he owned the place.

"Now really, Mr. Quintin!" said Minister Fudge as silence fell in the room from Gabriel's dramatic entrance. I was surprised to see that the Minister was in a meeting with Rufus Scrimgeour and Albus Dumbledore.

All three men stood up from their chairs, looking at us with surprise. Dumbledore looked concern, he knew me well enough to know when I was frightened and upset. Scrimgeour and Fudge looked outraged that we'd just march into the Minister's office.

"We have a serious problem," said Gabriel.

"Yes," Fudge said coming around his desk. He stopped in front of the coffee table that Gabriel and I stood next to. "We do." He threw down the afternoon copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

I picked up the paper in horror as I stared at the picture of a dark road with me lying on the ground and Sirius Black leaning over me, holding me. I knew that the picture was taken last night, just after I had been hit by the car. The headline that shined over the large picture read: Black and Coleman, Still In Love? My mouth fell open, but no words came out. In the fine print under the picture, where the article began, I read two names.

"Article by Carmen Legacy, picture by Jonathan Clover…" I threw the paper down and let out a yell of frustration. "That bastard is the guy you pulled off me last night! _He hit me with his car!_"

"Who?" Gabriel asked picking up the paper. "Jonathan Clover?"

"Yes!" I shouted as my rage got the best of me and the floor began to shake.

"Cadence," Dumbledore warned. "Remember yourself."

I clenched my fist together and took a long breath, sinking into the couch that was near the Minister's coffee table. I put my head in my hands as they shook, wanting desperately to make this entire situation just go away. I hadn't lost control of my energy like that in a long time, and I was slightly embarrassed that I did so in front of the Minister and my direct supervisor.

"Do you mind telling us what happened last night?" Scrimgeour asked with a harsh tone in his voice. I frowned deeply and looked up at him. He had returned to his seat, but Dumbledore and Fudge were still standing. Gabriel was near the door as if preparing for the paparazzi to come bust through the door.

"Are you alright, Cadence?" Dumbledore ask in a gentler tone. I looked at him and forced a smile.

"I'm fine," I whispered. "After the Minister had dismissed me from delivering Harry I walked home. I pasted by Gabriel's apartment on the way and as I did I saw Black across the street. I made to follow him and got him by a Muggle car—which it turns out that bastard photograph was driving!" I pointed at the paper on the coffee table. "Black bent over me on the curb, I don't know why…maybe to strangle the life out of me…but when the photograph ran up he ran off. I tried to get up and follow him, but the photographer stopped me, insisting I was injured and he was a Muggle doctor."

"So he prevented you from the arrest of Sirius Black?" Scrimgeour said looking at me.

"I suppose you can put it that way, yes," I nodded. Scrimgeour stood up and looked at Gabriel, who with out instructions nodded his head and turned to leave the office. I looked at him confused for a moment. Before I could even ask what they were going to do, Gabriel had dragged the photographer, Jonathan Clover, into the office.

"What are you doing!" Clover bellowed. "Man, I'm just doing my job—"

Gabriel grabbed the camera he had in his hands and threw it against the wall, smashing it to pieces. I smiled slightly.

"Now, hold on a second! That's bloody expensive equipment, mate. You've got to pay for that—"

"Excuse me, Mr. Clover, is it?" Scrimgeour said to the photographer. Jonathan looked at Scrimgeour with raised eyebrows as if he had never been address like that before in his life. "My name is Rufus Scrimgeour, I'm the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I'm sure you know my boss, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. And of course, Head Master of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore."

"Yea," Jonathan nodded. "I know who all of you are. What do you want?"

"It is my understanding, Mr. Clover that you interfered with the arrest of Sirius Black last night," Scrimgeour said. "Which is a chargeable offense."

"Whoa, hold on a second," Jonathan said. Scrimgeour raised his eyebrows and gave him a very dark look. "Sir," Jonathan added. "Sir, I did no such thing. I took the picture of Black holding Coleman—see right there—but he ran off and then I ran to her to make sure she was okay."

"Why wouldn't she be okay if Black was holding her," Scrimgeour paused for a moment and picked up the paper, reading it for a moment. "Like, and I quote, 'a lover'?"

"Sir I have no control over the headlines, I just take the pictures."

"Why'd you hit me with your car?" I questioned before any man could say another word.

"You jumped in front of the street!" Jonathan said. "The only thing I did wrong was lie to you about being a medic. I was just doing my job. It was pure coincidence that our paths crossed. I knew who you were and when I turned back I saw Black leaning over you so I took the picture. I didn't know this would happen."

"Why does Legacy have it out for me?"

"You're his ticket to a big promotion," Jonathan shrugged. "Everyone is going to be coming after you for that, princess."

My eyes flashed and I stood up off the couch. Jonathan took a step back frightened, and Gabriel grabbed my arm.

"He didn't mean it like that," he whispered. I gave Gabriel a very nasty look; I didn't care what Jonathan meant by anything he said. It didn't change the fact that I wanted to beat him to a pulp.

"What does he know about my daughter?" I asked Jonathan who looked frightened of me.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I'm assigned as his photographer, I'm not his partner. I just met the guy yesterday."

I sighed and turned away, rubbing my hands through my hair. What was I going to do to protect Carrigan? If her identity was released to the papers she'd be ruined. She'd be shamed and harassed at school; no one would accept her in the wizarding society—and Death Eaters could come after her to get back at me.

"So, are you going to charge me?"

"No," I turned to him. "Get out of here. Go away!"

Scrimgeour gave me a nasty look but I turned away and shook my head, frustrated to the bone. I didn't turn back around until Jonathan Clover was gone.

"I have to change Carrigan's last name to Quintin," I whispered.

"What?" Gabriel stammered.

"She won't change her name unless it is to yours," I said to him crossly. "And if it gets released that she is Sirius' daughter her reputation will be ruined."

"She won't be protected if from Death Eaters or your Father if he returns," said Dumbledore.

"I know," I nodded. "But I risk that either way. At least if we change her name to Quintin she'll be protected from Sirius."

"You're going to show her off as my daughter?" Gabriel's voice had a cross tone to it. "No. Absolutely not."

"Look, Gabriel, I know you don't want kids but she won't change it to anything else. This is our only option."

"You're her Mother for Merlin's sake," said Fudge going to his desk. "Make her do it."

I glared at him harshly. "It is her name, Minister, I will not make her change it if she does not want to." Fudge rolled his eyes at me and shook his head.

"Cadence," Gabriel sighed as I looked at him with desperate eyes. I went to him, standing in front of him.

"I'm begging you," I whispered to him. He shook his head and looked at the ground.

"When Sirius finds out—"

"Stop letting what will happen when Sirius finds out govern what I do as a parent!"

"You're making me her parent!" Gabriel snapped moving away from me.

"You're act as if you haven't been a Father to her for her entire life," I snapped. "Dammit, you do it just when it's fun! You're not willing to take the hit when it's hard!"

"I'm not just the one taking the hit!" he shouted at me. "If Sirius finds out he'll murder you!"

"I can take care of myself, right now we need to think about what is best for Carrigan," I said grabbing onto Gabriel's collar. "You've acted like her Father all her life, don't back out now."

Gabriel grew silent and looked at the other three men in the room. I had completely forgotten that they were there. I didn't care that they were either. I was going to shout and argue with Gabriel about Carrigan's safety all I wanted. No one was going to stop me from protecting my daughter and if changing her name to Carrigan Quintin was what would keep her safe, then fine. I'd do it. I didn't know what would happen when Sirius found out, I'm pretty sure it'd be pretty bad—but that didn't matter. I'd deal with that when it happened. This was about Carrigan, not me, Sirius, or Gabriel. Just Carrigan and what was best for her.

I looked up at Gabriel with sad desperate eyes as he reached up and took my hand, squeezing it tightly. I was going to keep staring at him until he said yes. I was going to beg him with my eyes until he gave him. I just prayed that he would. Gabriel was a strong, stubborn and independent man. If he changed his mind, which he probably wouldn't, and let Carrigan take his last name it meant that he would take fully responsibility for her as her Father.

"What will it do to Carrigan?" he whispered. "How will it change her?"

"She already considered you her Father, no matter what we tell her," I replied. "And let's be honest, it's not like she's going to form a father-daughter relationship with Sirius. Is it so bad for her to have a Father?"

Gabriel frowned deeply and turned away, rubbing his hands through his hair.

"You don't have to make a decision now," said Dumbledore interjecting into the conversation. His comment broke the standing tension that was forming between everyone in the room.

"We need to know by the end of the week though," Scrimgeour said. "We'll have to change documents and public records."

I looked at them and nodded. "Thank you. If you all will excuse me, I'm going home."

Gabriel grabbed me as I headed for the door and looked down at me with calm sad eyes. I could see in the depths of their dark chocolate brown color that he wanted to say yes to me. He wanted Carrigan to be his daughter; but at the same time he was scared of what it would do to our relationship; and what it could do to me in the long run. I sighed and squeezed his hand.

"I'll take you," he whispered. He wrapped his arms around me and we Apparated before I could object. We appeared in the kitchen of his apartment. I looked up at him with confused eyes. "You don't make things easy, do you?"

"Well I don't try to be difficult, Gabriel," I said putting my hands on my hips. "But when it comes to my daughter I'm going to do everything and anything to keep her safe. You know that."

He leaned against the counter and shook his head, sighing deeply. "It's just all one big struggle."

"Excuse me?"

"Life," he said standing up straight. "Loving you…it's just an endless struggle."

I frowned and looked at the ground feeling guilty suddenly. "Well don't do it for me, do it for her."

Gabriel shook his head. "I'm doing it for both of you."

"Gabriel," I said reaching out to him. "I'm sorry…I don't want you to not be happy about this…I just…I need to protect Carrigan and this is the only way…"

"Stop," he said shaking his head.

"Well it is the only way!" I said annoyed that he was telling me to stop.

Gabriel hit the counter with his balled fist out of frustration and grabbed me, pulling me against him in a tight heavy embrace. He held my face and neck as he kissed me passionately, causing me to forget all of my words. His breath and hands were hot on my skin as we continued to kiss in his kitchen. His touch sent lightening through my body, making it tickle and tingle. I couldn't help but wrap my arms around him and moan into his mouth. He pulled away very slowly, keeping his hands on my cheeks and looking at me with desperate loving eyes. My chest heaved up and down as I caught my breath.

"Will you stop now?" he asked as his thumbs stroked my cheek bones.

"For now," I whispered with a nod.

He smiled with approval then leaned down and kissed me tenderly again.


	8. A Big Happy Family

Later in the week, Gabriel came over for lunch so he and I could sit down with Carrigan and talk about changing her last name to Quintin. She seemed surprised that I was now pushing Gabriel's last name on her because she knew what that would mean for me and her Father. She looked at me with very serious eyes once I told her I wanted her to change her name to Quintin.

"But aren't you afraid of Dad?" she whispered. "And what will happen when he finds out?"

"First of all, this isn't about your Father," I said taking her hand as Gabriel sat quietly, eating his sandwich. "It's about you and your safety."

"But _it is_ about Dad," Carrigan replied. "It's about protecting me from him—"

"Not so much him as the media," Gabriel said. "You'll be in danger your entire life if your Grandfather returns, no matter what you change your name to."

Carrigan sighed. "I don't want to change my name to begin with. I'm really not crazy that I'm changing my name to that of a man's so it will protect me. No offense Gabriel, but you're not my Dad, you're not my protector—"

"It was your Mother's idea," Gabriel responded. I looked across the table aiming the ugly eye at him. He smiled frankly and took a sip of his tea, winking at me as he did so.

"I said I would only take your name," Carrigan said softly. "It was really my idea. I was hoping Mom wouldn't want me to have your name so she'd drop the subject."

"Ah, I see," I said looking at my daughter. "You're a very manipulative young lady, Carrigan."

"Learned it from Gabriel."

"That' doesn't shock me," I said with a smile. Gabriel looked flabbergasted, but smiled after a few moments. "Does that mean you want to do it, Carrigan?"

She sighed and put down her sandwich, wiped her hands in her napkin then looked at me very seriously. "If I change my name I can never change it back?"

"No, probably not," I whispered. "Not until we know you're safe."

"Because I'd be changing it to Quintin, does that mean you'll be changing my Father's name on my birth certificate?"

"No," I shook my head. "That will remain blank. But it will change your last name to Quintin on your birth certificate. You can file for a new name once you turn seventeen. This would be done in pure secrecy—it will be like Carrigan Coleman never existed and Carrigan Quintin always has."

Carrigan sighed after a few moments of silence. "I just don't know if there's a point Mom. So what if the papers print my picture and my name? I can't keep my identity a secret forever."

"Actually, you can," said Gabriel. "If you change your name to something new entirely."

"But I'm still living with Mom—the daughter of the Dark Lord! People aren't stupid," she responded with some frustration.

"Would you rather me ship you back to America?" I suggested.

"No!" Carrigan said quickly. "Not that you would. We moved here so I could go to school at Hogwarts."

"Well that was before your Father broke out of Azkaban," I responded.

"That doesn't change that you want me to have the best magical education and that is only found at Hogwarts." Carrigan was too smart for her own good…one of these days it would get her in trouble.

"Alright," I said. "How about you change your name or I send you to America?"

"I thought you said this was my choice!" Carrigan responded.

"You're making me be a parent, Carrigan," I said with a frank smile. "You're not making up your mind."

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a nasty look as I continued to smile at her. Of course she knew I was being sarcastic. I wasn't going to send her to America and I wasn't going to make her change her name—I just wished she'd listen to my advice about the harassment and violence she could face if her true identity got out.

"Fine," Carrigan whispered. She stood up from the table slowly and stepped

behind her chair. She gripped the back of it tightly, turning her knuckles stone white. "I'm keeping my name. Carrigan Coleman. I can take what will happen."

Before Gabriel or I could say anything she walked out of the kitchen, heading upstairs to her bedroom. I sighed loudly and dropped my head down on the table, rolling my forehead back and forth on the wooden surface. I gripped the edge of the table with my hands, squeezing it tightly with frustration.

"You can't be angry at her for making a choice," Gabriel said as he stood up from the table. "That is all you asked her to do."

"I'm not angry with her," I said sitting up. "I'm just worried that she isn't going to be safe. What if something happens to her—"

Gabriel pressed a finger to my lips. "Cadence," he said my name very seriously. "Stuff will happen to her, good or bad, and no matter how much you protect her you won't be doing her any favors by not letting her learn and experience things on her own. Carrigan is a smart strong young woman, you know that. She'll be more then capable of taking care of herself."

"I just don't want to lose her," I whispered sadly as I pressed my finger tips together on the table top. I looked down at my hands as tears welled up in my eyes. I wasn't one to cry very often, and I hated it when I did, especially in front of Gabriel.

"Hey," Gabriel said pulling me up out of the chair and holding me against his chest. "She's brave to not change her name, and I think she knows the consequences that will occur for that."

"I know," I sighed wiping my cheeks. "And it's not that. I know she'll handle things well at school. No matter what happens. But I'm so afraid that something bad will happen to her and I'll be left to wonder if it wouldn't have happened if I had changed her name."

"You can't think like that," Gabriel said still holding me. "And no matter what happens, I doubt changing her name would have protected her a great deal—especially because she was only willing to change it to mine."

I sighed, knowing he was right. I just didn't want to admit it. I pulled away from him as he stroked my cheek with his fingers. As I looked up at him I could see in his dark velvety eyes that he wanted nothing more then to love me like I was his wife...kiss me like he had kissed me last night…Gabriel Quintin was not the marrying type; at least that's what I had always thought. He was a womanizing, cheating, lots-of-sex-with-lots-of-women type of guy…and then he looked at me with those eyes and threw my entire world into a chaotic disaster of conflicting emotions and passions. His eyes knew everything I was thinking and the charming half smile he had on his lips told me he knew I would never give into him. I would never let him love me the way he could; I had never let him before and I was going to start letting him now. And he couldn't hold it against me, because he said it was okay—when I tried to apologize for it he told me not to; we had both made choices, he had said, and we both knew that no matter what we'd be with each other for the rest of our lives anyways.

"Mom," said Carrigan's voice.

I stepped to the side of Gabriel's body and looked at Carrigan with a weak smile. She raised her eyebrows at the pair of us as Gabriel turned to look at her. She approached it, still with the awkward studying look on her face.

"Were you two kissing?" she asked with a disgusted look.

Gabriel laughed. "I was trying to kiss your Mom; she didn't want me to though." He walked out of the kitchen, pinched Carrigan's arm as he passed her, and made his way to the front of his house.

"Why don't you want to kiss him?" Carrigan asked.

"Because he smells," I said turning and going to the kitchen sink. I finished the lunch dishes and glanced at my daughter. She was standing tall in jean Capri's, red flats and a white tee shirt with a black vest over it. Her vest was unbuttoned, her Capri's rolled up a little, shirt untucked and hair pulled back in a messy bun; I couldn't help but smile. She was going to be a very beautiful woman someday. "Are you ready to go to Diagon Alley?" I asked.

Carrigan smiled. "Yes," she said. "Do you think we could get more then just school supplies?"

"Like what?" I asked as I dried the last of the dishes.

Carrigan didn't answer right away. "Clothes," she finally whispered not looking directly at me. I smiled and shook my head.

"Don't you have enough clothes?" asked Gabriel coming into the kitchen with his jacket on. "I swear you're just like your Mother."

"Well, I can't imagine why that would be," I whispered with a smile.

"Do you want me to go with you to Diagon Alley?" Gabriel asked.

"People will think you're my Dad," Carrigan said as she went through the stack of mail on the counter, looking for her Hogwarts letter.

"That wouldn't be a bad thing, Carri," said Gabriel wisely. Carrigan rolled her eyes and pulled her letter out. She looked closely at the list.

"I need a total of twelve books for the year," she said ignoring Gabriel's comment. "And my fall clothes are too small." She added as she looked at me. I glared at her and smirked, knowing full well that she was my daughter.

"How about we get you new clothes at Christmas," I said trying to negotiate. "You just had your birthday and I got you clothes then."

"You got me summer clothes," Carrigan said with a whine.

"Oh," Gabriel laughed. "I know that whine."

I laughed and pick up coat up from the back of one of the kitchen chairs. I pulled it on and looked at Carrigan with sad eyes. "Come on, let's see how much your school things cost and then we can talk about clothes."

"You're still trying to negotiate," Carrigan said folding her letter into her pocket.

"Yea," I said holding her shoulders as I pushed to her the front door of the house. "Can you blame me?"

"No," Carrigan laughed. "I guess not."

Gabriel followed us to the front of the house and I looked up at him with smiling eyes. "I don't know if you need to come."

He looked at me like he had a thousand times when I was a teenager, like I was irresponsible and I didn't know the risk Carrigan and I were in. I sighed and rolled my eyes, turning away from him. Carrigan and I stepped out onto the porch and Gabriel followed, like the watchful guardian he was.

"No one is going to try anything in the middle of the day, Gabriel," I said as I locked the front door. He just kept looking at me with a very stern look.

"No point in fighting it Mom," Carrigan said from the lawn. "He's going to come either way."

"You're right," I said going to her and wrapping my arm over her shoulders. I put my other hand on my hip and looked at Gabriel. "You think we should let him come?"

"Yea," Carrigan shrugged. "He can help carry my books, plus you like looking at him—"

"Alright," I said standing up straight and giving her an ugly look. "That's enough from you young lady. Let's Apparate."

Gabriel came up to us, rolling his eyes and wrapped his arms around both of our shoulders. "I'm so happy that I'm stuck with you two for the rest of my life," he said bitterly.

"Cruel to be kind, Gabe," Carrigan said beaming. "We tease you out of love."

"I'm sure," he said with a nod. "Hold on tight."

Carrigan and I closed our eyes and held tightly onto Gabriel as he Apparated us to Diagon Alley; actually, he Apparated us to the alley in London outside the Leaky Cauldron. I frown and looked up at him with raised eyebrows. He shrugged as Carrigan broke free and began to walk down towards the opening of the alley. I walked after her, and Gabriel followed quickly.

Inside the Leaky Cauldron, I was not surprised to see that it was darkly light, like a Muggle bar. There were people of all shapes and sizes sitting around tables and booths, drinking, laughing and having a good time. As we walked through the inns first floor, someone called out my name.

"Cadence!"

I turned, on edge a bit, gripping my hand on my wand tightly. I didn't want to take any chances—for all I knew it could be that bastard Carmen Legacy calling my name; if it was I was going to curse him straight in the face. I sighed with some relief as my eyes fell on a tall, skinny red haired man.

"Arthur," I sighed. "You startled me."

"Sorry, Cadence," he said approach me. I shook his hand with a smile as he beamed at me. "It's good to see you. You as well Gabriel, how are you?"

"I'm doing well Arthur," Gabriel said exchanging hand shakes with the man. "How is work treating you?"

"Well, there will never be a shortage of people unreasonably trying to use Muggle objects," Arthur beamed. "And who is this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Arthur," I said as he looked at Carrigan with curious, but happy eyes. "This is my daughter, Carrigan. Carrigan, this is Arthur Weasley. Gabriel and I work with him at the Ministry."

"Nice to meet you," Carrigan said extending her hand to him. Arthur beamed and shook it.

"You also, Carrigan. Here, come meet my family," Arthur said waving us to follow him to a busy table where a number of red headed individuals were sitting. Two people stood out dramatically because they did not share the family trait of red hair. Rather, they both had brown hair; one was Harry Potter, who was smiling happily as he talked with his red headed friend; the other was a brushy brown haired girl. She was sitting next to Harry holding a large orange cat in her arms.

I paused for a moment and held Carrigan back. I leaned down to her ear and whispered softly. "Harry does not know that your Father is his godfather. He knows I'm his godmother but not that we were involved and not that you are your Father's daughter."

Carrigan nodded her head. "Alright, I understand."

I squeezed her shoulder and forced a smile at her, then continued to approach the busy table. Gabriel was being introduced to the table. When I reached him he gave me a smile.

"And this is Cadence Coleman," said Arthur. "She is a phenomenal Auror. Cadence, you remember my wife, Molly."

"Yes," I said smiling. "Hello Molly, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Cadence. It's nice to see you again," Molly Weasley said. She was a short woman with long red hair and darling brown eyes. It was no wonder that she and her husband produced so many red headed children. Cadence smiled at all of the children around the table. The Weasley's were a large, happy bunch and gave Cadence hope to see all of them. She wished that she had been part of such an amazingly large family. But she also was thankful that such happiness survived after her Father.

"Going around the table," said Arthur. "This is Percy, George, Fred—no sorry, Fred then George, our daughter Ginny, Ron, and his friends Harry and Hermione."

"Hello everyone," I said with a small wave. "Harry, nice to see you again."

Harry bowed his head to me, giving me a weak smile. "Hello, Cadence."

"I trust you have not been expelled, like you feared?"

"Nope," Harry said. "I'm going back to Hogwarts."

"Good," I nodded smiling.

"Are you _thee_ Cadence Coleman?" questioned one of the twins. I wasn't sure if it was Fred or George. "As in, daughter of He-Who-"

"That's enough Fred," said Mrs. Weasley harshly. The teenage boy frowned deeply and crossed his arms as he sat back in his chair, looking annoyed. I glanced at Harry, who now was looking at me with very curious eyes. It didn't matter what was said now at this table, no doubt he would go home with his friends tonight and they would discuss my loyalties, my lineage, and now my daughter. "I'm sorry Cadence."

"Its fine, Molly," I said. "No need to apologize. Can't hide from the truth."

"So it is true?" questioned the twin.

I nodded my head slowly, giving the twin a very keen look. He frowned slightly at my gaze and leaned back in his chair.

"This is my daughter Carrigan," I said placing my hands on her shoulders. "She'll be starting at school with all of you in September."

All of the children were studying Carrigan with curious eyes. There were probably many questions bouncing around in their heads. Obviously, they were curious about her being Voldemort's granddaughter. Their eyes could not hide that.

"Hi Carrigan," said the youngest at the table, Ginny. She stood up and went to Carrigan. "It's nice to meet you. Don't pay attention to the others, they're just stupid."

Carrigan smiled slightly. "I wasn't really worried about them."

Ginny laughed. "That's good. I'm going to be a second year, how about you?"

"I'm eleven, but I'll be taking second year courses," Carrigan responded.

"Well, hopefully you'll be in Gryffindor so we can be friends," Ginny said.

"That would be nice," Carrigan nodded with a smile.

"You must be really clever," said the other girl at the table, Hermione. "To be taking second year courses."

"I supposed," Carrigan shrugged with modesty.

"She is," said Gabriel proudly, as if she were his own daughter.

"I imagine she is gifted, like you, Cadence," said Arthur with a smile.

"Is it true that you can disintegrate people with your mental powers?" the other twin asked. I frowned slightly and glanced at Molly and Arthur who both looked ashamed of their son.

"George, really those questions are inappropriate," said Molly quickly. "Stop asking such personal questions."

The boy frowned, like his twin and crossed his arms over his chest. I smiled slightly.

"We should be going," said Gabriel. "Lots of shopping to do before night falls."

"Yes," I said. "Of course. Nice to meet all of you. Arthur, we'll see you tomorrow at the Ministry."

"Of course," Arthur said shaking Gabriel's hand. "You all be safe."

"You too," Gabriel said. "Good day."

"Bye," Carrigan said with a wave. "See you at school."

"See you," Ginny said with a smile.

I held Carrigan's hand as we followed Gabriel to the back of the Leaky Cauldron. He opened the back door and went into a small cobblestone alley. Walling straight up to the wall in the alley, he tapped his wand against the bricks in the center. The wall began to unfold from the center, opening up to reveal a busy magically street behind it. Gabriel waved for Carrigan and I to pass him, and we advanced into Diagon Alley.

There were booths lining the streets, selling hats, crates, food, wine, and wild animals. The first place we went was the robe shop. Carrigan was measured for her robes and I asked that she have two black robes and two Gryffindor robes. While we were waiting for the robes to be packaged she pointed to a black sleeveless robe that hung on a manikin in the window of the shop. The back of the robe was cut out in the shape of a low v-neck, and lace had replaced the black material. There was lace detailing on the sleeves and bottom of the robe.

"I think I'd like that," Carrigan replied. "It's edgy."

I smiled at her. It looked like something I would wear. "Maybe for Christmas," I whispered. Carrigan frowned and shook her head with a sigh.

"Come on," I said as the witch brought us Carrigan's robes. "Gabriel must be going nuts waiting for us outside."

Carrigan took her packages and we left the robe shop. Gabriel was waiting for us outside the pet shop. I frowned slightly as Carrigan dashed up to him. She looked at me with burning eyes.

"Please," she said. "Can I get a pet?"

I bit my bottom lip. "I don't know Carrigan…It's hard to take care of a pet when you're away at school."

"How about an owl?" Gabriel suggested. "Then you can write home all the time. And owls feed on their own. You wouldn't have to worry about feeding her." He looked at me and saw my worried eyes. "I'll buy it for you, Carri. Go in and take a look."

Carrigan handed her boxes to me and rushed into the store without saying another word. I gave Gabriel a very nasty look, raising my eyebrows at him as he smiled.

"Don't worry," he shrugged. "I'll take care of it."

"That's not what I'm worried about," I said. "You know she's not going to pick an owl."

"Well I'm not going to buy her anything but an owl," Gabriel said sternly. I shook my head at him, knowing very well that he was going to bend to Carrigan's will.

"Mom! Mom!" Carrigan said running out of the shop. "You have to come see him, he's the only one and he's adorable! Please, come see him. I want him!"

I sighed. "It's so not an owl," I said walking past Gabriel who turned to follow me as Carrigan dashed back into the shop. She led us to the back of the shop, into the "Wild Creatures" section. I frowned deeply and looked over my shoulder at Gabriel, who looked a little pale as we entered the back section of the store.

It was dark and quiet in this section, and most of the cages were empty. There were a few containing wild looking animals that were rare and probably illegal. I frowned deeply as Carrigan led me to the back far corner.

"Look at him!" Carrigan said point to the bottom corner cage in the section. It was the largest cage in the store it appeared, but had a small, kitten size animal in it. I immediately recognized the mythical creature with is lion like body, eagles head and wings. "He's so adorable!"

Carrigan smiled as she leaned against the metal cage. The griffin was looking up at her with dark chocolate brown eyes. I couldn't help but smile slightly. The creature was adorable—but so not the kind of pet I wanted Carrigan to have. First of all, she couldn't take it to school. Second, I would be stuck taking care of it. And third, it was going to grow to be about five hundred pounds.

"Carri," sighed Gabriel. "I said I'd get you an owl."

Carrigan turned to Gabriel with wide eyes. "Well, owls are birds and he's part bird! He's half eagle. Look at him! How can you say no to that face?"

The griffin was hoping around in its cage, pouncing at the metal bars that separated it from Carrigan.

"Quiet easily," Gabriel said with out hesitation.

"Hello," said a man coming towards us from the front of the shop. I assumed he worked for the pet shop because he was wearing an apron that was stained with dirt. "I see you're looking at our most treasured creature. Would you like me to take him out of the cage?"

"Yes!" said Carrigan eagerly.

"He's harmless?" I questioned.

"He's a griffin, Cadence, of course he's not harmless," Gabriel responded. "Carrigan, this is not what I said."

"He is a domesticated griffin," said the shop keeper with a nod. "They're specifically bred as house pets—"

"It's a griffin," interrupted Gabriel. "I don't care if it was bred as a house pet."

The shop keeper had already opened the cage, and before Gabriel or I could object, the griffin was climbing out of the cage with his talons on the metal cage. It wasn't strong enough to climb out without the help of its wings, which were fluttering frantically as it climbed. It reached the top of the cage and jumped onto the store floor. It quickly crawled around in circles, chasing its tail for a moment. Then is stopped, immediately on the spot and looked up at Carrigan with wide brown eyes.

Carrigan dropped down to her knees and the griffin bound across the floor to her, jumping into her lap and flattering its wings frantically, trying to fly. It jumped up, pulling its talons back and putting its paws on her shoulders. Carrigan laughed as the griffin turned its eagle's head sideways at her, studying her closely. It cawed loudly, catching all of us off guard, then walked on Carrigan's lap until it laid down, closing it's eyes.

"See I have to get him! He likes me!" Carrigan insisted.

"Carrigan, you can't take him to school," I said.

"That's fine," Carrigan sighed. "He can stay home with you."

I bit my bottom lip as Carrigan looked up at me with big batty blue eyes. I sighed and rubbed my head. "He's going to grow up to be a five hundred pound beast—"

"Actually, the domesticated griffins only grow to three hundred pounds," the shop keeper said. "And this young griffin was the runt of the litter. He's small even now. He'll be lucky if he reaches two hundred pounds."

"Oh, what a relief!" I snapped.

"Mom!" Carrigan looked at Gabriel and I with pleading eyes. "Please? Look at him, he's adorable and he likes me already!"

I looked at Gabriel and shrugged. "It's up to you," he said. "You're the one who will be living with it."

"You'll be paying for it," I said. "And all its food."

"Please?" Carrigan said standing up, holding the griffin in her arms gently. He stirred in her arms and raised his head to rest on her shoulder. "I'll never ask for anything ever again, Gabe. I promise."

"Ha," he laughed. "I don't believe that. We'll take him, Sir," he said to the shop keeper. Carrigan's face exploded with a beaming smile. She rushed forward and hugged Gabriel with one arm around the waist. He hugged her in return as the griffin between them grew restless. Gabriel stepped back and looked at the griffin with raised eyebrows; it was already very protective of Carrigan. I smiled slightly and made my way to the front of the store as Carrigan followed. We stepped outside as Gabriel finished the transaction and purchased food and a crate for the griffin.

"We still have to get the rest of your school supplies," I said as we waited for Gabriel.

"Right," Carrigan nodded not taking her eyes off her new pet. She was stroking its feathered head very slowly. The griffin was purring deeply as it rested its head on her shoulder, its eyes looked relaxed and happy.

"What are you going to name him?"

"Hector," she said instantly.

"That seems appropriate," I said with a frank smile. Gabriel came out of the pet shop carrying a box of pet supplies and a large crate.

"He has to be in the crate when we go into other stores," said Gabriel putting the crate on the ground and opening it. Carrigan frowned slightly but nodded, then lowered a sleepy Hector into the crate. He immediately stirred when she set him down and looked up at her with his big brown eyes.

"It's just for a little while, Hector," she said petting his head gently. "I promise."

Gabriel closed the crate easily and latched it, then picked it up to carry. Carrigan took the box of supplies and carried it as we walked towards the book shop. Gabriel waited outside with our packages and Hector while Carrigan and I finished shopping. By the time we had gotten the rest of her supplies it was dusk. Gabriel was insistent that we get home as soon as possible. He didn't like us being out this late, with all of these packages. He felt it made us vulnerable.

"You take Hector," I said. "We'll take the rest."

Gabriel nodded and Apparated on the spot. Carrigan smiled at me with exhausted eyes.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yes," she nodded with a smile. "I'm just tired."

"Of course," I said. "Let's get home. We have to get Hector settled."

"Can he sleep in my room?" Carrigan asked. I thought the question over for a moment.

"I suppose, but he'll miss you more when you leave for school in a few weeks then," I answered.

"Alright," Carrigan said. "Let's go home."

She held my hand as she supported the box of pet supplies that was now also full of her extra school materials. Gabriel had taken her packages of books, and I carried her new robes. I squeezed her hand and Apparated smoothly. There was a loud crash when we appeared in the back sitting room of the house. I looked around confused, thinking that Carrigan had dropped the box of pet and school supplies, but she hadn't. She was looking up at me with a similar confused look.

"Hector!" Gabriel yelled through the house. Carrigan and I put down her new belongings and rushed through the house, to the front room, where Hector was on top of the highest bookshelf in the room.

"How'd he get up there?" Carrigan asked looking up at the top shelf that almost touched the ceiling. "Hector," she called. "Come on, buddy, come down."

Hector cawed and squeaked as he looked at Carrigan, wiggling his lion's butt in the air like he was ready to pounce on her. He jumped ambitiously off the shelf and spread his wings wide. He had a four foot wing span, as a cub, which frightened me slightly. How big were his wings going to be when he was fully grown? He didn't flap his wings, just glided down until he hit Carrigan's chest and she wrapped him in her arms. She laughed as he cuddled in her arms.

I looked at Gabriel with a frank smile.

"He just bounded out of the crate, as soon as I opened it," he said waving his wand at the broken lamp and picture frames on the ground. They immediately fixed themselves, falling back into place as if they had never been touched by a rambunctious griffin cub.

"Time fore bed," Carrigan said to Hector in her arms. I smiled as she walked by Gabriel and me. "Good night Mom," she said pausing to kiss my cheek.

"Good night sweet heart," I responded. She then went to Gabriel and stood on her toes to kiss him. She pecked his check and held up his fist. She tapped her balled up fist against it and bid him goodnight.

"Thank you, again," she said. "For Hector."

"You're very welcome, Carri," he replied smiling at her with dark brown eyes. I couldn't help but smile as I looked at the two of them. Carrigan made her way upstairs quietly, taking a calm Hector with her. "I feel like I'm going to regret buying that animal for her."

"Yes," I nodded. "Especially when I make you come over to take care of it."

Gabriel smiled at me then looked at the ground awkwardly. I frowned, pushing my hands deep into my pockets. Gabriel came up to me and touched my shoulders.

"I'll see you at work tomorrow," he whispered close to my ear. I nodded.

"Thank you," I said. "For everything today."

"Of course," he said as his lips pressed against my neck. I smiled slightly and bit my lip as I moved away. "We spent it together like a big happy family."

"Good night, Gabriel," I sighed looking up at him with an intense dark stare. He smiled and nodded his head once. I ignored his last comment about us being a happy family.

"Good night," he whispered then made his way out of the house. I sighed with relief and sank down into the couch in the front room. My insides were pulsing with desire. I blinked and pinched my arm, trying to bring myself back to reality. I had to stay focused on everything that was going on in my life—Carrigan was going to be leaving for school in a few weeks, we now had a pet griffin in the house, I had massive amounts of work to do for the Ministry, Sirius Black was on the loose, and the Magical paparazzi was out to get me and my daughter. There was a lot to stay focused on. I did not need Gabriel Quintin teasing me with sexual desires.


	9. Red Folder

The next morning when I arrived at my cubicle at the Ministry I found Carmen Legacy sitting in my desk. I frowned when I saw him and stopped dead in the entrance of the cubicle, glaring at him bitterly. Legacy smiled at me with a charming grin, which only made me glare harsher. I wished that he would light fire right there in my desk chair. At least then, he wouldn't bother me anymore. I had to stop myself from thinking those thoughts, because if I wasn't careful they would happen.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully. "I brought you tea."

He lifted a paper cup of steaming tea of the desk and offered it to me. I didn't take it, only continued to glare at him. He frowned and put the tea back on the desk. "Perhaps for later, then."

"No," I said grabbing his collar and throwing him out of my cubicle. He caught his balance as he stumbled into the wall across from me. "How the bloody hell did you even get in here?"

"I have Ministry clearance," Legacy shrugged easily.

"What do you want?" I hissed sitting down. I picked up the cup of tea he had left on my desk and dropped it into the trash bin that was next to my desk. He frowned at me as he straightened his cloak and tie.

"Still looking for you to tell me your story," he said. "And I'm not planning on leaving you alone until I get it."

"I told you already, Legacy, there isn't a story."

"I told you already, Coleman, I know there is. Are you ready to tell me what happened in Little Whinging?"

"Nope," I said opening a file folder that had been on the top of a pile on the right of my desk. I signed the papers in the folder, and then closed it. I placed it on the left of my desk and picked up another file from the right. Once I had read through it and signed the required paper work, I placed this folder on the left of the desk, creating a new pile. "Does Gabriel know you're here yet?"

"I have not seen your partner," Legacy said leaning against the cubicle wall but staying on the outside of it. I glanced at him, waiting for him to add something to his statement. It only took a few moments of silence before he spoke again. "Or is he more then your partner? Are you in love with two men, Cadence?"

"No," I said looking up at him. "I loved Sirius Black before he betrayed me. I have never loved Gabriel. The only person who has earned my love is my daughter. There, Legacy, print that."

His sandy blonde hair swished in front of his eyes as he shook his head and laughed at me. "No one really cares if you only love your daughter Cadence. You're supposed to love her. It'd be a good story if you loved both men—Sirius Black, your ex, possible Father of your child, and Gabriel Quintin, life long dark magic fighting partner, who also could be the Father of your child. He acts like it anyways, but I doubt he is—"

I stood up from my chair. "The last time you mentioned my daughter, Legacy I threw you into a wall. Gabriel isn't here to stop me from doing worse this time."

Legacy's handsome eyes flashed at me, as if daring me to challenge him or hurt him. I frowned and turned away.

"You brought her up," Legacy whispered leaning over the cubicle wall.

"Legacy, if you don't remove yourself from this building I will have you removed," I said sternly. He stood up straight and tapped the thin silver name tag off his shirt.

"I can be here," he said.

"Not if you're harassing an Auror so she can't perform at her job," I snapped as the walls of the cubicle began to shake. I grabbed the edge of my desk and closed my eyes tight, focusing all of my energy on breathing. I didn't want to hurt Legacy, he would no doubt seek revenge on me in the form of a scandalous article if I did that.

"Is something wrong, Cadence?" he asked in a husky whisper, leaning into the cubicle.

"Yes," I retorted. "You're threatening me. Not many people threaten me so badly that I start to lose control…but so help me Legacy if you do not leave me be I will hurt you."

"I love how you threaten people," he said smirking as he stood up straight and came into the cubicle. He shivered slightly and continued to smile, mocking me. "It's like you think you're actually scary or something."

I jumped up; moving faster then he expected and grabbed his collar. I kicked his legs out from under him and shoved him to the floor viciously, slamming him to the ground making him groan. I crouched down next to him, still holding his collar, while glaring at him so fiercely that he might have light fire.

"This isn't a game Legacy," I said. "Leave the Ministry right now and don't come back to bug me ever again or I will hurt you."

"If you hurt me, Cadence, you'll probably get fired," Legacy said.

I bit my bottom lip and shook my head smirking. "I'm not stupid enough to hurt you here, Carmen. I'll follow you home, catch you on the dark street late at night after you've left work. But I don't think I'll get fired…Scrimgeour and Fudge will think I'm doing the wizarding world a favor."

For a moment fear flashed in Legacy's eyes which brought me pleasure. He reminded me of the bullies I faced at Hogwarts once it had been revealed that I was Voldemort's daughter. I had once lit a ring of fire in the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts around three boys who had shoved me down the Grand Staircase. Needless to say, they never bugged me again.

"It kind of turns me on when you talk like that," he whispered. Shivers shot through my body, making me cringe. I had the strong feeling that Legacy was a very dark and twisted person. My instincts said he was once a Death Eater because he enjoyed trying to control the situation too much. He was turning the situation around on me so he could remain in control by telling me he liked the way I threatened him. I stood up and walked away from him. If he wasn't going to leave the Ministry, I would. I didn't need to put up with this crap.

As I marched towards the lift, Legacy yelled after me. "I'll just wait here then!" I looked over my shoulder to see him going back into my cubicle. At that point, I didn't care. I kept walking and pushed the button for the lift violently, and then began to pace in front of it. I felt like I had to keep moving otherwise I might punch a hole in the wall. When the lift doors opened I was only half surprised to see Gabriel standing in it. He always had perfect timing. He could immediately tell that I was agitated because I looked like I was going to jump out of my skin. He looked me over as I glared at him—as usual he looked charming and sexy. Gabriel could show up to work in a clown suit and still look sexy. That day he was wearing dark blue jeans, brown shoes, a white button up shirt, and a brown waist coat. He had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows, revealing the very sexy sleeve tattoo on his arm; in one hand he held a cup of coffee, in the other his work bag that had files and orders in it. I bit my bottom lip, trying not to smile. Just seeing him made me feel a little better.

"Good morning," he said taking a sip of the cup of coffee he had in his hand. I frowned slightly. What was with the portable beverages this morning? "What has you in a mood this morning?"

"I'm going home," I said getting in the lift. Gabriel didn't step out; he just looked at me with raised eyebrows. The lift doors closed and it began to descend to the atrium.

"Dare I ask why?"

"Because that monster Legacy is in the cubicle in my desk chair and won't leave," I snapped unreasonably. "If he's not going to leave I am. I don't have time for his games."

"Alright," Gabriel said very calmly. "Let's go speak to Scrimgeour. That seems like a more reasonable idea then you leaving in a temper—"

"I think this is pretty damn reasonable consider I want to pop his head off with my hands!" I shouted. The entire lift shook and Gabriel gave me a quick look. I sighed and put my head in my hands. "You know it takes a lot to get under my skin like that now-a-days."

Gabriel frowned and nodded his head. "Yea, I know. Come on, let's go see Scrimgeour." He pushed the department floor button as I crossed my arms over my chest, sighing loudly.

"If I go back up there I'm going to beat him up."

"Well I would not advise beating up your boss," Gabriel said referring to Scrimgeour. I gave him the nastiest look I could to show my annoyance with his smart-ass comment. "Alright," he said with a sigh and looking away. "I can see that I really shouldn't push you."

"No, push," I said uncrossing my arms shaking my hands a bit as if I were preparing for a fight. "I can beat you up and not get in trouble."

"If you start a fight with me it will end with me on top of you…pinning you to the ground. And we both know how badly you _don't_ want that to happen," Gabriel said smirking. I continued to glare at him, now he was just being obnoxious and sarcastic, trying to get under my skin in a teasing way. Well it wasn't working. It was just annoying me more. Maybe he thought I would just throw a punch and start a fight to let my aggression out.

"Do you think I'd lose my job if I beat Legacy up?"

"No," Gabriel said once he sipped his coffee. "You're too valuable an asset."

I smiled and nodded. "Good." The lift doors opened and I stepped out of the elevator, making a bee-line for my cubicle. I was going to kick the pants clean off of Legacy. Gabriel raced up behind me and grabbed my arm, however. He pulled me in the opposite direction, altering my path so we were heading for Scrimgeour's office.

"That doesn't mean you should beat him up," Gabriel scorned.

"He deserves it!" I snapped and sighed with annoyance. "I just want him to leave me alone."

Gabriel laughed. "Let's handle this like adults you very childish women."

I rolled my eyes. Gabriel always made me out to be a child, rash and irresponsible.

"I'd rather just take care of it myself," I whispered. "And I did act like an adult when I walked away—how childish is it that he's sitting in my chair waiting for me to come back?"

"He's just sitting at your desk?" Gabriel asked with a tone of concern.

"Yea, probably going through my files—" I stopped dead and pulled out of Gabriel's arms, running back to the cubicle. All of those folders had been sitting on my desk, and one of them was a follow up report of the night I went to get Harry in Little Whinging. It dawned on me in that moment that maybe Legacy wasn't interested in me at all really; he was interested in Harry Potter. That's why he kept asking me about Little Whinging.

I turned the corner and raced down the aisle to my cubicle, Gabriel calling my name as he ran behind me. I skidded to a stop and looked in my cubicle—it was empty. The files on my desk looked untouched. I pealed through them quickly, and found the blue report folder for Little Whinging. I opened it, throwing loose leaves of paper around. The red folder containing my orders for the assignment was missing; more importantly Harry's private information—the location of his Aunt's home—and my security code were in that red folder.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled slamming my hand against the cubicle wall. "That bastard."

I stepped to leave the cubicle as Gabriel reached it, we ran into each other and I cursed again.

"I have to tell Scrimgeour," I said. Gabriel nodded and stepped aside to let me pass. "Check your desk," I added as I left the cubicle. "That bastard could have gone after anything."

I ran down to Scrimgeour's office and opened the door without knocking.

"Miss Coleman!" he exclaimed looking up from his desk where he was carefully writing a letter.

"I'm sorry Sir, we have a security breach," I said easily. "That reporter, Carmen Legacy, he stole the assignment folder to pick up Harry from my desk. That file had Harry's personal information and my security code."

Scrimgeour stood up from his desk and flicked his wand over his head. An alarmingly red bird appeared and sailed out of the room at top speed, racing for the door as it opened its mouth and a horrible high pitched caw rang in the air. I covered my ears as it passed over my head and then stood up straight once the alarm bird had left the room. Scrimgeour came around his desk and stood straight, putting his wand to his throat.

"Attention all Ministry employees," his voice echoed through the room and the entire building. "This is Rufus Scrimgeour, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. We have had a breach on our floor. Reporter Carmen Legacy just stole classified documents; he may still be in the building. We are now under lock down. No one leaves the building until Legacy is found or it is cleared that he is no longer in the building."

He pulled his want away from his throat and approached me.

"Let's hope we've caught him here," he said motioning for me to follow him out of the office. Gabriel met us as we made our way to the lift. He still looked relatively calm, considering the events that were taking place.

"Nothing was missing from my desk," he said when he joined us in the lift. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed deeply.

"I shouldn't have left him alone," I said. "He was there to look for the file from the start…everything else was just a cover in case you or I did come to the cubicle."

"How did he even get in here?" Gabriel asked. "No one thought to ask why he was sitting in our cubicle to begin with?"

"He has Ministry clearance as a member of the press," shrugged Scrimgeour. "And everyone probably thought the same thing you did, Coleman, that he was waiting to talk to you; not that he was pealing through your desk looking for a story on Harry Potter."

"Obviously we need tighter security," I said. "If it's that easy for Legacy to get in and get classified information, think of how easy it will be for Black to get in here if he wanted to."

"What if Legacy is working with Black?" Gabriel suggested. "That's why he needed the file, it has Harry's location in it."

"He already knew where Harry was," I said shaking my head. "He was there the night I went to get Harry. He probably knew of Little Whinging because of James and Lily. He is Harry's Godfather after all, he would know where Lily's next of kin was if Harry were to be sent there for any reason."

Gabriel and Scrimgeour were frowning, both looking worried. Scrimgeour also looked angry. I could see the fire burning in his eyes—he wanted to know how this could have happened on his floor; in the Auror department of all places.

"I'm sorry, Sir," I said. "This is my fault."

"There are many people at fault, Coleman," he said wisely. "No point in taking all the blame for yourself."

I frowned at his back handed remark. He was going to hold me responsible for this because I was stupid enough to leave a reporter alone at my desk while my case files were out. Plus, I was careless enough to leave the case files out in the open to begin with. I had never been so careless in my life. I frowned deeply and put my head in my hands. I was becoming comfortable with my surroundings. I wasn't thinking on my feet or paranoid anymore—which was bad. When I looked up at Gabriel I could see a small flash of disappointment in his eyes, which frustrated me.

_Mom!_

I threw my arm out against the wall of the lift as Carrigan's voice exploded in to my head. The unexpected invasion of her mind inside of mine was unexpected and overwhelming.

_Mom!_

She was screaming with Legilimency. Something was very wrong. I looked up at Gabriel and moved to the lift buttons, pushing the atrium button violently. The elevator wouldn't move faster, no matter how many times I hit the button, but I continued to push it. Carrigan was in trouble.

"Miss Coleman?" Scrimgeour said my name as he gave me a curious look with his dark eyes.

"Cadence?" Gabriel questioned. "What's the matter?"

_MOM!_

I grabbed my head as Carrigan's screams echoed in my mind. I groaned and fell to the ground on my knees as tears welled up in my eyes. I didn't understand what was happening—I had shared psychic connections with my Father before because of a blood bond he had performed on me when I was sixteen. (It was the cause of the ugly scar on my arm). How could I be having such a strong connection to Carrigan? Were we psychically connected because we shared blood, or was she much stronger at Legilimency then I ever realized?

"Cadence!" Gabriel yelled as I put my hands to the floor, balancing my body as I caught my breath. "What is it?"

"Carrigan," I sighed as Gabriel took my hand and helped me up. "She's calling for me. Something is wrong—"

"Legilimency brought you to your knees like that?" Scrimgeour asked with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know why," I murmured. I was holding onto Gabriel's waistcoat, as if holding onto him would somehow make me more stable. Fear was pumping through my body—I had never heard Carrigan so afraid in my life. Her voice echoed in my ears as I stared at the ground. Gabriel lifted my cheek and gave me a reassuring stare.

The moment the lift doors opened we both stepped out.

"We're on lockdown!" Scrimgeour said.

"My daughter is in trouble!" I yelled viciously at my boss. Gabriel grabbed onto me and Apparated on the spot, before another word could be said.

We appeared in my front yard. I moved forward and Gabriel grabbed my arm, pulling me back quickly. I looked at him with a ruthless glare.

"What—"

"Do you have your wits about you?" he asked.

"Of course I do!"

There was the sound of crashing glass from in the house. Gabriel and I turned to see a chair had been thrown out of the second floor window. The chair rolled down the roof and fell onto the front lawn, shattering into pieces.

"That's my desk chair," I said moving the house.

I ran into the house, throwing the front door open and dashing up the stairs. Gabriel was on my heels, following me quickly with his wand drawn. I pulled my wand as we reached the top of the stairs and waved it over my head violently, throwing open the study door with a bright blue explosion. I heard Carrigan scream—which made my blood curdle with fear.

"Give it back!" her young voice screamed.

When I reached the entrance of the room, Carrigan was on a man's back, holding him like she had held Gabriel while we were wrestling. He was struggling to get her off of him, and pulling at her small arms because she was choking him. As Gabriel and I entered the man grabbed Carrigan's shoulders and bent over, flipping her over his back and harshly onto the hardwood floor. She groaned in pain. I flicked my wand at the bastard who had been fighting with my daughter. The spell hit his shoulder and sent him flying across the room, straight into the wall. I jumped over the spilled boxes of office supplies and my personal books, and stalked towards the intruder. I grabbed him by the collar before he could get up and make a run for the window. I slammed him against the wall, dropping my wand and punched him clean across the face.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!" I yelled.

The man looked scared. His dark brown eyes were watery; he had long brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail at the base of his neck, facial stubble, and a thin but muscular build. I frowned suddenly—he couldn't have been more then eighteen or nineteen; he was just a kid.

"Please," he begged. "Don't kill me—I was just—I was—"

"You were what?" I slammed him into the wall again. "If you hurt my daughter I will kill you myself—"

"Mom!" Carrigan said. "I'm fine."

"She's fine, Cadence," said Gabriel coming forward. He touched my arms, forcing me to relax. He looked at the kid who had broken into the house with very serious eyes.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Calvin Roman," he said instantly. "I was just doing what my boss told me. I'm sorry. He said he needed something here—"

"Who's your boss?" I asked harshly.

Calvin looked at me with very nervous eyes, then looked back at Gabriel who was giving him a stern look.

"Carmen Legacy," he sighed. "He said if I got a folder for him he'd put a good word in for me with the editor. I've worked for the Daily Prophet for a year and a half now and I haven't been published yet—Legacy said he could get me published, I just needed to do something for him. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I swear….your daughter attacked me!"

"You were breaking into our house!" Carrigan snapped. "What'd you expect me to do?"

"I didn't know you were home," Calvin said quickly. "I don't even know who you are—"

"You know who I am, right, Calvin?" I questioned seriously.

"Yes," he said instantly with scared dark eyes. "I do. I'm sorry. He didn't say it was _your_ house I would be breaking into. He just gave me the address."

"What were you looking for?"

"A red folder," Calvin said to me. "He didn't tell me what was in it. He just sent me to look for it."

I let go of Calvin and turned away, looking at Carrigan who was in her pajama shorts and a tank top still. I frowned slightly and went to her, lifting her chin to look in her dark blue eyes and make sure she was fine.

"Get out of here Calvin," said Gabriel. "Legacy already has what he was looking for."

"What?" Calvin questioned with a sigh. He cursed loudly. "He's never going to publish me!"

"Get out of my house," I snapped glaring at him. I didn't care about his petty deal with Legacy. I wanted him out of my house before I broke one of his bones…and I was really in the mood to break something. Calvin didn't need telling twice, he left immediately.

"You're sure you're okay?" I asked Carrigan.

"Yes," she said with a nod and a weak smile. I patted her cheek and embraced her. "Mom!"

"I didn't realize how strong you were at Legilimency," I said.

"You brought your Mom to her knees," Gabriel said smiling as he put his hands in his pockets. "We haven't even discussed how to communicate with Legilimency."

"I just thought of Mom," Carrigan said smiling up at me.

"I think you're going to be fine at school," I said hugging her again and kissing her head. She hugged me in return and sighed against my chest, feeling relief that the fight was over.

"Which one of you threw the chair out the window?" Gabriel asked waving his wand to fix the room.

"I did," Carrigan said. "I heard something up here, so I came up thinking Hector had gotten into something but I found Calvin instead. He was rummaging through your desk and the boxes. When I got here, he pointed his wand at me, but I used Legilimency on him, distracting him and tackled him…we fought. He had me pinned for a minutes, that's when I called for you—and then I managed to break free. He came at me, I threw the chair at him."

"Alright," I said nodding my head and sighing. I ran my hands through my hair and turned away from Carrigan, trying very hard to calm down.

"Good job, Carri," said Gabriel patting her shoulder.

"Thanks, Gabe," she said smiling.

"I'm going to kill Legacy," I snapped as everything in the room began to shake. Gabriel gave me a stern look.

"I just fixed this room, Cadence, don't go breaking stuff again," he warned.

A vase on the shelf shattered as I glared at him with annoyance. This was my house, my belongings. I'd break whatever the hell I wanted to. Gabriel shook his head at me, frowning.

"You stay here," I said pointing to Gabriel. I headed for the door of the study, and frowned…it was completely blown off its hinges. I looked at Gabriel. "Uh, do you think you could fix this?"

"Yea," Gabriel said nodding his head. "I'm used to cleaning up after your messes."

"Ha ha, very funny," I said. "I'm going to the Daily Prophet."

"Don't kill Legacy," Gabriel said.

"Of course not," I smiled. "I'm just going to get my folder back, swipe his memory, and maybe make him a paraplegic."

Gabriel laughed and shook his head as he approached me. I stepped away from him, giving him a very stern look. If he touched me, I might have to hurt him. He rolled his eyes at me and leaned in, I stepped back again. He picked up the door that I had been standing next to and I sighed as he gave me a know-it-all look.

"Go," he said. He leaned the door against the wall and pulled out his wand. "I've got this."

"Thanks," I muttered then walked out of the room.

When I arrived at the _Daily Prophet_ headquarters in London, there were Aurors there looking for Legacy. They hadn't found him in the Ministry, and now were searching his house and work place for him. This only frustrated me more.

"I'll wait for him," I said to the Auror in charge at the _Daily Prophet_.

The Auror, who I had met once, looked at me with skeptical eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest as we stood outside of Legacy's private office on the tenth floor of the Daily Prophet's building.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," the Auror said looking me over. His blue eyes lingered on my breast for a few moments, which made my blood boil. I gave him the nastiest look I could muster.

"Keep your eyes on my face," I said pointing to my face. "Not my tits. I out rank you, so when I say I'll wait for Legacy that should be good enough for you. Get out of here. If he sees all of us standing around his office we'll spook him."

The Auror rolled his eyes as I continued to give him a nasty look. He turned and cocked his head to his fellow Aurors, motioning for them to leave. I glared as I watched them head back to the elevators and leave. The people on the floor were all standing around, looking at me with curious eyes. I opened the door to Legacy's office and stepped inside. If he was going to snoop around my desk, I was going to snoop around his.


	10. A Threat Contained

Carmen Legacy's desk was a small closet size room. There was a desk, a chair and a trash can; no window, no lamp, no book shelf. I wasn't impressed by it—I'd rather have my cubicle, but maybe that's because I shared it with Gabriel. I took a seat in Legacy's chair, which was so wobbly I thought I was going to fall out of it backwards. I leaned back, carefully and put my feet up on the desk, getting comfortable. I had no idea how long I was going to be sitting in his desk, might as well be comfortable.

Legacy came stumbling into his office around three in the morning; hours after I had been sitting there waiting for him. He looked around his dark office as if I weren't there. It wasn't until he flicked his wand and lit the room that he saw me, sitting at his desk with my feet up. He paused and smiled with surprise.

"Hello Cadence," he said.

"Hello Carmen," I said pulling my feet off his desk. I leaned forward in his chair and gave him a smirk.

"What are you doing here?"

"You took over my office, why can't I take over yours?"

"It's three in the morning," he said looking at his magical wrist watch. "Shouldn't you be off catching bad guys?"

"I am," I nodded slowly. "Carmen, stop acting stupid, you know why I'm here."

"Yes," he nodded closing the door to the office. He pulled a red folder out of the inside of his cloak and held it up in the light. "This red folder I imagine."

"What is this all about?" I asked remaining in his chair. "Is this about me or Harry?"

"It's about both of you," he shrugged. "You both have wonderful stories to tell."

"We don't want them told," I said standing up. "Why do you want to tell them so bad?"

"Because the public deserve to know about them."

I glared at him once he answered my question. I didn't like what his response was. It was nobodies damn business what my happened in my personal life, or Harry Potter's personal life. We both lived very different lives and our secrets had to be kept secret—especially Harry's.

"No, they don't," I said. "You're messing with our lives, Carmen. You're threatening my life, my daughter's and Harry's—"

"You risk your life everyday," Legacy shrugged. "What's the difference if a story about you and Sirius Black is printed in the paper?"

"The difference is that people will start to talk," I said as I stood up. I stepped around his desk, glaring at him and speaking with a threatening tone. "Harry and Carrigan's safety is the most important thing to me right now. If you print anything, I will kill you myself."

"Well you can't stop me," he said shaking his head and stepping close to me. I crossed my arms over my chest and continued to glare, as if challenging him to come closer. "Threatening me only makes me want to do it more."

The dark look in his eyes was disgusting to me. He was trying to make sexual innuendos. It bothered me that Legacy would even try to look at me like that, like he even stood a chance of coming close to me, of touching me or kissing me. But it wasn't about that, it wasn't about the intimacy—it was about the sex. He was sexually attracted to me; and that frightened me a little. I didn't like it when I ended up in these situations. I didn't like it when a bad guy—any guy for that matter—tried to use my sexuality against me; tried to take advantage of me and seduce to his will…it was as if Legacy thought I'd give into him and if I had sex with him I wouldn't arrest him.

Before I could say anything he continued to speak, "People should hear your side, Cadence. Know the pain you've lived." He was leaning closer to me, making me more nervous. I realized very quickly that I could use his attraction to my benefit. I wasn't proud of what I was about to do, but if he was going to try and use my sexuality against me I was most certainly going to use it against him.

"You don't know anything about me," I whispered. He reached up and touched my cheek, very softly.

"Let me," he said. "Let me know you and let me tell your story."

I stared up at him for a few moments. "What does that have to do with Harry, and what is in that red folder?"

"Harry is part of your story," Legacy whispered. "If the public knew your tragedy and how they intertwine they would support you."

"You mean to say that you are going to write a piece that would benefit me? Not slander me?"

"Of course," he said cupping my cheeks. "I have your best interest in mind."

He leaned in and kissed me deeply as his finger tips traced down to my neck and collar bone. I let him kiss me and slowly, despite my better judgment, I kissed him in return. He pulled away slowly.

"Didn't think you'd let me kiss you," he whispered.

"I'm not really proud of it," I said grabbing his wrist and twisting it backwards, forcing him to turn around. I kicked his knees in, forcing him to the ground and grabbed the red folder from his hand. I tossed it on the desk and snapped my fingers, making it disappear.

"Is this what you consider foreplay?" he asked.

"Not really," I whispered in his ear.

He threw his elbow back into my stomach, catching me off guard. I stumbled backwards as he stood up and grabbed my waist, lifting me up and slamming me against the wall of his office.

"Funny," he said aggressively. "I do."

"That doesn't shock me," I punched him across the face and he released me, dropping me to the floor. Before I could stand up he grabbed my arms and kicked me in the stomach, knocking me back, crumbling over in pain. When I hit the floor he straddled me, pinning me down, and held my hands over my head. I wiggled under him, suddenly very aware that Legacy was a well trained opponent. I kicked my legs around frantically; he tried to maintain his power over me, holding me down with great strength. Fear sprang in my eyes, which brought life to his. He grinned at me, with a jeering dark eyes stare that frightened me even more.

Focus. Focus. I told myself. I had been in worse situations then this. If he thought he could take advantage of me, he was mistaken. I wasn't going to let him get that fair—I was going to over power him, erase his memory and maybe punch him severely in the balls.

After my private pep talk, I bucked my hips to the left violently, throwing him off of me. He crashed into the wall, groaning. I sat up and grabbed his head, shoving it back against the wall. He reached up and grabbed my shoulders, trying to fight back against me. I banged his head against the wall again as his hands found my throat. I let go of his face and grabbed his hands. I stood up and kneed his face as I held his wrist tightly in my hands.

"Is that enough foreplay for you?" I sighed releasing him and stepping back when he appeared to have enough. His nose and lips were bloody, and his eyes looked beat. I leaned against his desk to catch my breath. To my surprise, he lunged forward, grabbing my calves and pulled legs out from under me. The back of my head hit his desk and I groaned in severe pain. Blood started oozing from my skull immediately and my site became fuzzy.

"I've just begun," Legacy said over me as he took long breathes.

My eyes rolled back in my head as I sighed, unconsciousness was coming on. I looked at Legacy with an ugly glare, trying hard not to pass out underneath his body weight. He was not going to win this fight.

I lifted my arm, throwing it across my body violently and sent Legacy flying across the office with my mental powers. His body spun in the air and slammed against the wall. He slid to the floor in a pile of unconscious flesh. I gasped for bed and sat up, pulling my wand from my boot. I flicked it at Legacy, wiping his memory clean. I prayed as I sat up that he hadn't told anyone about the contents of the red folder.

There was no point hanging around in the office now that I had swiped Legacy's memory. Hopefully I had removed all thoughts and memories of me. If I had he wouldn't come after me anymore. Holding my stomach, that was throbbing, I groaned and laid back on the ground as tears filled my eyes. My head was still bleeding onto his office floor. Closing, my eyes tight, and trying to manage the pain, I focused all of my energy on home. I had to Apparate home. Concentrating was almost impossible to do as my head throbbed from hitting the desk…but I had to.

When I managed to concentrate enough to Apparate, I arrived in the kitchen of my house. My body slammed onto the kitchen table, making it break underneath my weight. The destruction of the table made a ruckus that caused Gabriel to come running into the kitchen, wand drawn, only in his jeans, which were unbuttoned like he had just thrown them on over his boxers.

"Cadence," he said surprised and with concern. He paused for a moment before asking me a security question. "How many Aurors arrested us before we went to Azkaban?"

"Two," I sighed after a deep breath. Gabriel came forward and pulled my body off the broken table.

"Where were you sleeping?" I muttered.

"That's your biggest concern?"

"You were in your boxers—"

"Mom?"

Gabriel looked away from me to the hall where I could see Carrigan in her baggy sweat pants and tee shirt.

"Carri, go upstairs," he said quickly.

"Merlin's beard!" Carrigan said entering to the kitchen. I was bleeding all over the broken kitchen table and floor. "Mom! You're head—"

"CARRIGAN UPSTAIRS!" Gabriel yelled. Carrigan gave him a nasty glare and turned to return to her room. He didn't watch her leave; instead he looked to me immediately and turned my head. His touch made me groan in pain. I felt his wand tapping against my head, with each tap my headache throbbed harder. I bit my bottom lip and clenched my hands into tight fist as I waited for the pain to end.

"Is Legacy dead?" Gabriel whispered once he had repaired my head. He was a handy man to have around. He had always been able to heal me, and if he couldn't he took me straight to St. Mungo's without hesitation. Gabriel handed me an ice pack as I sat in a kitchen chair. I pressed it against my still throbbing head and sighed as he went to clean up the blood and fix the kitchen table.

"No," I whispered. "I wiped his memory."

"How did this happen?" he asked still whispering. We both knew that Carrigan was sitting at the top of the stairs, waiting to be called back down once I was healed.

"I attacked him and he fought back," I shrugged holding the ice pack to the back of my head.

"I didn't expect him to fight back this well," Gabriel said glancing at me. "That was close Cadence."

"No, close is being stabbed in the stomach by_ your_ girlfriend," I said to him referring to an instant that happened a few months before Carrigan was born.

"She wasn't my girlfriend," Gabriel retorted. I couldn't help but smile at him. He came to me once the kitchen was neat and clean and leaned over me. "Are you going to let me kiss you since you scared me?"

"No," I said shoving him away. "Legacy must have been a Death Eater."

Gabriel sighed as he moved way. "I don't remember him being one, and he doesn't have a dark mark."

"Why is he so well trained then?"

"It is possible to be a well trained wizard without being a Death Eater."

"Gabriel," I sighed shaking my head. "He's dark and evil. You didn't see him. It was a game to him…he wanted to control me. He was aroused."

Gabriel looked at me sternly. "He didn't—"

"No," I whispered shaking my head and looking down. "No. I stopped him…"

Gabriel came to me, knelt down and touched my knees. His eyes were such a shade of midnight blue tonight that he could have pasted as Carrigan's Father. There was a stirring passion in his eyes, a fear of violation that made my heart skip a beat. He loved me to the point that it hurt him to see me hurt…if Legacy had sexually assaulted me and I didn't kill him, Gabriel would have.

"Just because he was evil doesn't mean he was a Death Eater," Gabriel finally whispered. "There are people out there who are simply dark and twisted."

"I know," I said. "I know."

"Mom?" It was Carrigan's voice, calling from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm alright," I sighed with a frown to Gabriel, who stood up and kissed my forehead. "You can come in."

Carrigan entered the kitchen and rushed into my arms. I moaned with pain as she clung to me, putting her weight on my very sore torso.

"Carrigan, you have to be gentle with your Mother," Gabriel said pulling her back slowly. She looked at me sadly, distressed that I had been in such danger.

"What happened, Mom? Why were you bloodied up so bad?"

"I just got into a fight, sweets," I muttered. "I'm fine now."

"You got what you were looking for?" Gabriel asked.

I nodded my head, and then snapped my fingers. The red folder that Legacy had stolen appeared on the kitchen table. Gabriel nodded his head once then looked at the clock on the wall over the stove.

"It's almost five," he whispered. "I take it you're not coming into work today?"

"No," I shook my head. "I'm coming in. I'll just be late."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I don't think that's best."

"Okay, thanks for your opinion," I said giving him a stern look. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Well I am going to shower," he said. "Do you mind?"

"No," I whispered placing my head in my hands.

"Mom, do you want something to eat?" Carrigan asked going to the fridge.

"No, thank you darling," I said standing up. Gabriel was making to exit the kitchen, but I called for him to stop. "Gabriel, can you help me?"

He frowned and came back to me. I glanced at Carrigan who was pulling food for breakfast out. I smiled slightly, despite not wanting breakfast she would cook something for me anyways. She would make enough for all three of us. Gabriel wrapped his arm around my waist and held my arm over his shoulder. Together, we walked out of the kitchen; well Gabriel walked, I hobbled. He helped me up the stairs and into the bedroom. When he helped me sit down on the bed he hovered over me, and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me.

"You need to be careful," he whispered in my ear. His hands were still on me; one on my hip the other on my bare arm. I looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

"I am being careful," I responded as his fingers lingered on me causing me to shiver from the sensation.

"What happens when I'm not here to fix you?" he asked looking me in the eye seriously. This question caught me off guard.

"Gabriel," I said touching his chest. "What are you saying?"

"Just stop being stupid," he said and kissed me deeply on the lips. His hands squeezed me tenderly as if he were afraid that I had slipped away from him, right through his fingers. His actions caught me off guard and I wasn't sure what to think of them. There had been plenty of times in our lives where one of us had nearly died. Why was Gabriel responding this way now? The fight with Legacy was not my worst—yes there was the threat of sexual violation, but I had the situation under control…I blinked at Gabriel's dark eyes, was that what this was about?

"Gabriel," I sighed, but before I could say anymore he kissed me again, holding me tightly against him. I let him interrupt me, only because I enjoyed the way his lips tasted against mine, but his actions still bothered me; they were so bittersweet.

"The thought of him," Gabriel stopped speaking and pulled away from me. I saw fury in his eyes; he was worried that Legacy had violated me, and that made his blood boil. He stood up and turned away, running his hands through his hair. "I'm sorry," he said shaking his head. He looked at me over his shoulder. "You're not mine to worry about."

"Gabriel," I said painfully, but he walked out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. I groaned as I laid back in the bed, throwing my hands to my head as I sighed with annoyance. Boys were too dramatic.

I pushed the romantic drama that was my relationship with Gabriel to the back of my head. Rolling on my stomach, which was incredibly painful because Legacy had kicked me in the stomach so many times, I crawled up the bed to my pillows. I laid my head down and pulled the quilts over my beaten body. I just needed to rest…maybe if I slept the worries that haunted my head would relax…maybe for a few hours I would be at peace. For now, all was well, I had stopped Legacy from printing private information concern Harry Potter and me; and hopefully I even veered him off the path of our pursuit. Hopefully he would not come back to bite me in the ass; hopefully, for now he was a threat that had been contained. So, for the next few hours I could sleep and only worry about Gabriel's feelings for me, and Carrigan leaving for Hogwarts in less then a week.


	11. Foolish Girl

On the morning of September the first, I came downstairs to see all of Carrigan's things packed up and in the foyer of the house. I had bought her a new trunk before moving to England, it was red leather with gold snaps and locks. Before we had packed everything to move she had pasted pictures of handsome famous wizards on the inside of the trunk's lid. The trunk was closed, strapped shut now; so the beautiful faces of wizard rockers didn't grin out of the trunk. I frowned slightly; my heart wishes that she was a little anxious about leaving. As happy as I was that she was excited about school, I was a little hurt that she was so excited to leave quickly.

The motherly thoughts I was having came to a halt in my head when I heard the crashing of glass shattering against the kitchen floor. I turned away from Carrigan's things and made my way down the hall to see Hector, the griffin, standing on the kitchen floor surrounded by broken plates, looking rather guilty with his dark brown eyes. Carrigan was standing over him, hands on her hips, glaring down at the griffin cub. When I entered the room, Hector turned quickly to face me and backed up into Carrigan's feet, knowing very well that I was more frightening then Carrigan.

"What happened?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest as Carrigan grabbed Hector up into her arms. He looked up at her with nervous eyes, but fluttered his wings, then nuzzled his head against her neck.

"He was flying and pouncing around the counter," Carrigan shrugged. "He jumped on a stack of dishes I was cleaning, knocked them over."

"Is he alright?" I asked as I pulled out my wand and flicked it at the dishes.

"Yes," Carrigan replied. "Just a bit of a trouble maker."

"I so look forward to being alone with him," I joked.

"Mom, why can't he come with me?" she asked as I made the dishes repair themselves, I then returned them to their original stack on the counter next to the sink. I gave her a steady look. She was clinging to Hector like she was afraid of losing him, this made me frown.

"Because your letter says that cats, owls, and small pets are allowed."

"Hector his small…for now," Carrigan muttered the last words which made me smile.

"I'm sorry Carrigan, but you knew this was going to happen when you picked him out. I warned you ahead of time."

She sighed and let Hector out of her arms. He expanded his wings and flapped them powerfully as he sailed through the kitchen, just missing light fixtures. "I know," Carrigan said. "I was just hoping I could change your mind."

"It's not my mind you have to change," I said holding her shoulders. "I don't make those rules."

Carrigan nodded her head as there was a knock at the door. I looked at the clock on the wall, it was a little before ten. No doubt it was Gabriel at the door. He had insisted on coming to take Carrigan to the train station with me. I didn't mind so much; I knew he wanted to say good bye to her.

"Finish the dishes," I said to my daughter. "Then we have to get going."

She nodded her head and turned to the sink to wash the dishes that I had just repaired. I watched her for a few moments before I left the kitchen. She looked more grown up today then I had noticed before. Carrigan was mature for her age; she had always been that way, but perhaps I had raised her to be more mature. She had known from the start that she was Voldemort's Granddaughter and that she was in constant danger because of that. She was incredibly powerful, but I had no intention of holding her back; the nurturing of her powers and magical abilities perhaps made her more mature also. She had begged to train with me and Gabriel since she was seven, and when she was ten I allowed him to teach her some things. Was I taking away her childhood by having Gabriel teach her how to physically fight? Was I taking away her innocence?

"Mom, are you going to let Gabriel in?" Carrigan asked. I blinked and shook my head.

"Yes," I said with a smile.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea," I nodded. "I was just thinking."

Carrigan looked at me oddly but nodded her head as she dried the dishes. There was a loud knock from the front of the door, which made me sigh. Gabriel was so impatient. I walked to the front of the house, leaving Carrigan alone in the kitchen, and leaned against the door, holding the handle in my hand.

"Who is it?" I asked in a semi-sweet voice to tease Gabriel.

"You know damn well who it is," he responded aggressively.

"What did you tell me last week?"

"To be more careful."

I opened the door and smiled up at Gabriel. He was giving me a stern look, which made me smile more.

"Would it kill you to open the door?" he asked as he stepped into the foyer. "I was starting to get worried."

"Good morning, Gabriel," I said closing the door.

"I was going to break down the door," he said pushing his cloak back and putting his hands on his hips. I could see that he was wearing a holster around his hips which held a long knife against his side.

"Well I appreciate you not going crazy on my door," I said looking him up and down. Along with his holster I noticed his white button down long sleeve shirt and brown waist coat that he wore under his cloak. His shirt was stretched across his muscular chest, and tucked into his flattering perfect-fit blue jeans. If he caught me looking him over he'd never let it go, so I quickly put my eyes on his knife, and then looked up at him. "Was the knife really necessary?"

"You know the answer to that question," he said giving me an even sterner look then before, if that was possible. His eyes were midnight blue again today, which made my heart skip a beat. He saw the flutter in my eyes and it made him smile, relaxing his stern look.

"Alright," I sighed. "I have some paperwork for you up in the office."

He nodded. "Sure."

"Carrigan," I yelled down into the kitchen. She appeared at the end of the hall, standing in the kitchen holding Hector again.

"Hi Gabriel," she said smiling.

"Hey Carri," he said beaming. "I see Hector is still a handful."

"He's well behaved," Carrigan responded. "…usually."

"Ha," I said. "Right. Gabriel and I have to go upstairs to sign some papers. We'll leave as soon as we're done."

"Alright," Carrigan nodded. I gave her a smile and made my way up the stairs, Gabriel following me. I looked over my shoulder to catch him checking my ass out. He looked up at me with a smirk and smacked my thigh playfully. When we both reached the top of the stairs I gave him a nasty glare.

"That was uncalled for," I whispered.

"Lots of things are uncalled for, Cadence," he said with ease. He leaned over me trapping me against the wall and his large muscular body. "What are you going to do now that Carrigan is going to school? You'll be alone all the time in this big empty house."

"I imagine I'll spend more time at the office," I responded. "With you," I added as I looked up at him with a half smile.

He stood up straight with smiling eyes excepting my idea. "I'd rather spend more time _here _with you."

"Yea, that doesn't shock me," I said. "The office is my safe place…you can't touch me inappropriately there."

Gabriel laughed and nodded his head as he turned away heading for my office at the end of the hall. In the messy study I went to the desk and opened a blue file folder. Gabriel held out his hand and a quill appeared in it. He signed the papers in the folder quickly, and once he was done snapped his fingers making the quill disappear.

"Why couldn't we do that at the office?" he asked as I picked up the folder and made it disappear with a snap of my fingers.

"Because you're not supposed to be in tomorrow and these papers are due on the Minister's desk in the morning," I said. Gabriel nodded his head.

"How were you planning to travel today?" he asked as he leaned against the desk. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked me up and down. I let him, not glaring at him in return; after all I had looked him over when he arrived.

"I thought we'd Apparate into the city then walk the rest of the way," I shrugged. "Why do you think that's a bad idea?"

"No," he shook his head and stepped close to me. I gave him a dark glare and he smiled. "That's why I'm coming with you, right? In case there's a danger."

"There won't be," I said smartly. "Its broad day light, and Sirius would be stupid to try anything now."

"We've been attacked plenty of times in broad day light," he said wisely, standing close and looking down at me. I couldn't help but smile at his calm loving expression. "That one time, on your birthday when you had a miscarriage, that was broad day light."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. But I'm sure it will be fine."

"Rather be safe then sorry," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed my forehead. I smiled at him and nodded. Glancing at the clock, I frowned. It was almost ten thirty now. It was time to send my baby off to school. "She'll be fine, Cadence." Gabriel said reading my mind.

"I know," I sighed turning and leaving the room. Gabriel followed me out and we made our way down to my foyer. Carrigan was standing, her backpack over her shoulder and trunk in hand, ready to go.

"Ready?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes," I said going to the closet and getting my coat. I glanced at Gabriel who walked by us and headed for the kitchen. He was gone for a few seconds, when he reappeared I gave him an odd look and he shrugged.

"Just checking that the door was locked," he said.

"I locked it," Carrigan said with some annoyance. "I'm not stupid."

"I didn't mean you were," Gabriel said hugging her with one arm and kissing her head. I smiled as I pulled my cloak on.

"Ready?" I asked.

Carrigan nodded.

"Where is Hector?" I questioned.

"He's not happy I'm leaving," Carrigan said. "He's hiding in his crate."

I nodded my head slowly as Carrigan looked away from me and bit her bottom lip. "Gabriel will you take her trunk?" I asked.

He sighed and nodded then picked up the trunk easily. I held onto Carrigan's hand tightly and then wrapped my arm around Gabriel's waist. We all closed our eyes and thought of a quiet corner street a few blocks away from King's Cross Station.

We appeared in a dark alley, down from the street, which was busy with crowded Muggles on their lunch break. I frowned slightly, so much for it being quiet. Gabriel seemed to be thinking the same thing as I looked up at him. He took Carrigan's trunk in one hand, holding it so the wheels on the bottom would roll nicely, and then took Carrigan's hand with his free hand. As we walked out of the alley I kept my hand in my pocket, clenching my wand just in case anything bad happened.

"Mom?" Carrigan called to me as we walked. I was trailing behind her and Gabriel, keeping a cautious eye on the many people surrounding us.

"Yes?" I said catching up to her.

"I was wondering," she whispered. "Is Harry in danger like me?"

I frowned for a moment. "Yes, there is some concern for his safety also."

"Because of Father?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes, Carrigan. And your Grandfather."

Carrigan bit her bottom lip and nodded. "But he doesn't know—"

"No, and you should probably keep it that way," Gabriel said. "As long as you can."

Carrigan nodded her head again as she held onto the strap of her over-the-shoulder back pack. I noticed a glint of anxiety in her eyes. I touched her shoulder, squeezing it, to reassure her.

"You'll be fine Carrigan," I said confidently.

"Oh, I know," she said quickly.

I smiled at her and she returned the smile.

As we reached King's Cross Station my heart did not relax. This is where Gabriel had kidnapped me when I was fifteen—this is where our crazy roller coaster relationship had started; in the parking lot of King's Cross Station. Just because we were a step closer to the Hogwarts Express did not mean we were a step closer to safety. When Carrigan was on board the train and it was on its way to Hogsmeade then I would feel that she was safe. There was too much going on at the station for it to be considered a safe place.

"You two go first," Gabriel said nodding his head to the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten. I took Carrigan's hand and she looked up at me confused.

"Where are we going?"

"Platform 9 ¾ ," I said with a smile. Carrigan was still looking at me with a funny look, but I lead her towards the barrier with a brisk walk and she followed suit. She clung to me as I reached the brick wall, and I heard her gasp with fear, but then we walked straight through the wall. Carrigan's fear turned to excitement and surprise as her eyes fell on the beautiful scarlet steam engine, the Hogwarts Express. Her eyes danced around the beautiful platform as people moved about bidding good bye to their children and families.

"Come on," Gabriel said as the first whistle sounded. "We just made it."

I led Carrigan down the platform, where we spotted Molly Weasley waving her children onto the train.

"Arthur!" she yelled as she turned around. "Arthur! Harry needs to go!"

"He's coming Molly," Arthur Weasley yelled as he appeared with Harry running in front of him. Molly grabbed him before he made it to the train and embraced him tightly. She pulled out of the hug and waved to us as we approached.

"Cadence!" she said waving.

I stopped as Gabriel moved past me and loaded Carrigan's trunk onto the train. I pulled Carrigan into a tight hug, kissing her head.

"Remember to write me," I said. "If anything happens."

"Mom," Carrigan said rolling her eyes. "I can take care of myself—"

"Don't use your magic," I said quickly with a stern look. "Remember what we talked about."

"I know," Carrigan said with a nod. The whistle of the train blew again.

"Cadence," Gabriel yelled to me.

"I love you Carrigan," I said hugging her again.

"We're strong girls Mom," she said beaming.

"The strongest," I said pinching her cheek. "Alright, get going."

I let her out of my arms and she dashed off to Gabriel, hugging him tightly as the train started to move.

"Here," Harry said holding out his hand. Carrigan took it and he helped her up on the train as it slowly started to pull out of the station. Gabriel came to me and stood behind me, placing his hands on my shoulder.

"Bye Mom! Bye Gabriel!" Carrigan yelled as she waved from the door of the train. She had a glowing smile on her face, which made my heart fly. It was time for her to start her own magical adventures—I just prayed they'd be safer then mine ever were.

Harry's emerald green eyes caught mine for a moment. He stared at me as the train pulled out of the station, and I couldn't help but smile at him. He nodded his head once to me and then said something to Carrigan. They both turned and disappeared onto the train as it turned the corner.

Gabriel squeezed my shoulders and I looked up at him. He smiled down at me and leaned down, kissing my cheek. I couldn't help but smile. For once my stomach flipped and I thought we should just be together so we could kiss each other in public and no questions would be asked.

"How are you Cadence?" Molly asked me.

I stepped away from Gabriel and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'll be better when she actually reaches Hogwarts."

Molly smiled and nodded her head. "I was a disaster last year when we sent Ginny off for the first time. They grow up so fast."

"Yes," I nodded. "They do."

Molly, Arthur, Gabriel and I turned to make our way off the platform. Gabriel and Arthur were having a quick conversation about the Dementors that had been released from Azkaban to help in the search for Sirius Black, which according to the Ministry, had been going on for too long now. I personally, didn't think they would ever catch him. If he was able to escape Azkaban, which is supposed to be a fortress of such magnitude that it's inescapable, then I doubted he'd be found. It was easier to hide now that he had escaped.

When we reached the parking lot, Molly and Arthur bid us good bye.

"See you at work," Arthur said shaking mine and Gabriel's hand. "Be safe."

"You also," I said.

Gabriel waved as we walked away and the Weasleys Disapparated on the spot. We continued to walk through the busy streets in London, heading for the Ministry. We both were going to go straight to work.

"How risky do you think it is having the Dementors on the loose?" I asked.

"Depends how much control Fudge has over them."

I gave Gabriel a skeptical look as he smiled at me. "I know," he said as we passed a coffee cart on the corner of the street. "Hold on."

He stopped at the cart and bought two cups of coffee, handing one to me when he returned to my side. "Thank you," I murmured.

We continued to walk, and as I sipped my coffee Gabriel continued to talk about the Dementors.

"The concern I have is that they're putting Dementors at Hogwarts," he said.

I glanced up at him. "I hadn't heard that."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Gabriel shrugged. "Kids are full of a great amount of energy and happiness. The Dementors will be drawn to them."

I nodded my head in agreement. "Do you think Carrigan would be at risk?"

"No more then the other students," Gabriel said shaking his head. I frowned but nodded my head. Anxiety had risen in me since we left the station. Now the only thing I could think about is how I had sent my daughter away in a time that wasn't safe for her—I had sent her away with my name, which wasn't safe, and her Father's eyes, which would betray her secret to anyone who knew who Sirius Black was.

"Cadence," Gabriel called my name. I blinked and looked up at him. "Hey, you have to stop worrying."

"I'm not," I said quickly, giving myself away. Gabriel gave me an all knowing smile and I felt my stomach flip. No matter what I did I could never lie to Gabriel. He knew me too well. I rolled my eyes at him and glared. "I'm not going to stop worrying Gabriel, she's my baby girl."

"Yea," he nodded. "And she always will be—"

"And I will always worry—"

"But you can't worry so much that it gets to you," he said with a shrug. "She's going to make mistakes Cadence, she's going to get hurt, and she's going to learn and be happy. That's all you can ask of her."

"I hate you," I sighed as we arrived at the Ministry.

"I know," he smiled broadly. "I hate you too."

I gave him a nasty glare as he turned those words into something with a much deeper meaning then was intended. He substituted hate for love, which made my blood boil, but he was right. I would never admit it, or say it out loud, but I was madly in love with Gabriel Quintin…I was just too proud of a woman to admit it.

"Hey," Gabriel said catching my arm as I headed for the lifts at the end of the atrium. I looked up at him with curious eyes. "I'm off today."

"What?" I questioned. "Then why'd you walk all the way here—" I stopped and gave him a nasty glare.

"Just wanted to spend a little more time with you," he whispered kissing my cheek quickly. He was lucky he stole the kiss fast enough for no one to really notice; otherwise I would have punched him.

"As if we don't spend enough time together," I said.

"I'm off for two days," he shrugged. "That's a long time not to see me, Cadence."

"I'm crying on the inside," I retorted annoyed with him. He laughed at me and pinched my cheek.

"I'll see you in two days."

"Fine," I said turning on my heel. "Enjoy your time off."

Gabriel said nothing, only stood in the atrium for a few seconds watching me walk away. When I got into the lift I saw him smiling at me, then he turned and walked in the opposite direction. I let out a sigh of relief and bit my bottom lip, trying not to smile. I felt like a love sick school girl….and a foolish one at that.


	12. Trouble Maker

The work day at the Ministry was boring. I signed paper work, turned in paper work, and filed paper work. If I had known that so much paper work would be involved in my job as an Auror I probably wouldn't have been one. For a few moments that day I craved for the good old days to be back—for darkness to be creeping around every corner, the adrenaline from the hunt and the excitement of catching bad guys. Was I wrong to wish for that hell of a life to be back? Was I twisted to want evil to return to the world in such a chaotic manner? I could live without the fear though…I didn't want that back…but I suppose if I got the excitement of hunting evil it came with the fear of losing to evil. I couldn't have one without the other.

Most of the day was spent day dreaming and recalling my past adventures, mostly with Gabriel. I realized very quickly that even if I had loved Sirius with all of my heart it wouldn't have been enough for either of us. I shared such a strong bond with Gabriel, a mystical and legendary bond, that it destroyed my relationship with Sirius. No matter how much we loved each other, Sirius would always question my relationship with Gabriel (which he had right to), and I would always be with Gabriel because of our bond. It broke my heart to think that Sirius and I wouldn't have survived till now—obviously because we hadn't survived the war against my Father. If it weren't for the war we might have survived because then Sirius wouldn't have been a follower of my Father.

I frowned deeply and rubbed my head. That was still something that bothered me. I didn't understand how Sirius Black had become a follower of Voldemort. His family had been pure blood maniacs forever, and he wasn't, that's why he left his home when he was still in school and was disowned by his family. And how could a man that I loved so deeply been for Voldemort—my own flesh and blood that I despised? How could I have been foolish enough not to see it? Was I so in love with Sirius that I didn't see him slipping away to Voldemort? Or was I so in love with Gabriel that I didn't see Sirius slipping? Had I driven Sirius to my Father…much like Sirius had driven me to Gabriel so many times?

I couldn't blame myself. Sirius was a grown man. He made his own decisions. And he decided to betray everything we knew and loved. He made the choice to turn to my Father, to betray me, to give up James and Lily Potter. That was all on him and I couldn't take it on my shoulders. I couldn't blame myself. And yet…I did. I felt like I was responsible for all of it. I had pushed Sirius to be the secret keeper when he didn't want to be; and I was the one who made Sirius doubt me; I was sure that I was the reason he turned his back on us—on the Order and the fight for good. I was the reason he ran to Voldemort. It was my fault. The thoughts that were racing inside my head were buried in ambivalence. I was torn between blaming myself and blaming Sirius. I felt responsible but I was upset that I felt such away—because I knew I shouldn't.

And yet I couldn't help thinking, what if…what if so many things….what if Sirius hadn't betrayed the Potters or me; what if there hadn't been a war; what if Carrigan hadn't been born—well some the answers I knew. If there hadn't been a war I probably never would have come to England in the first place; I never would have met Sirius or Gabriel, I never would have had Carrigan. If Sirius hadn't betrayed the Potters they'd still be alive, Harry would have his parents, and Voldemort would still be alive. I don't know if Sirius and I would still be together though…our problems sunk deeper then him betraying me.

These thoughts filled my head all day until I got home. I was so caught up in memories and pondering that I almost forgot to feed Hector his dinner. When I went into the kitchen, to his crate, I was surprised to find it empty. I thought Carrigan had said she locked him in it before we left for the train station that morning.

"Hector!" I called through the house. I grabbed a bag of his soft chew dragon meet food and shook it as I walked through the house looking for him. He could have been anywhere. He was small enough to fit under beds or in cabinets and had strong enough wings to hide on the top of shelves or light fixtures. "Hector, you want dinner? Hector!"

After searching the entire house I returned to the kitchen and realized that most of his food and snacks were gone. My heart sunk into my stomach and I cursed wildly. When I had asked Carrigan where Hector was that morning she had said in his crate, then bit her lip and looked away from me. That nasty child of mine bit her lip when she lied to me. I should have known better.

I dropped the bag of food on the kitchen counter and went to the front of the house, pulling my traveling cloak back on. I shoved my wand into the side of my boot and left the house without a second thought. Carrigan had stowed Hector away in her trunk so she could take him to school with her. She hadn't even started term yet and she was already causing trouble.

The trip to Hogwarts was easy. I Apparated from my porch steps to the gates of Hogwarts. The castle stood tall in the moon light, creating a forbidding feeling as mist spread across the grass. I pushed past the gates and began to march up the gravel path to the castle. A chill had settled across the grounds which made me shiver and pull my cloak closer to me. Before I could even ponder why it was so cold—like a February night—on the first of September, Dementors came swooping down onto the grounds from all directions. All happiness left my body as they spiraled around, growing closer and closer to me. Each of my breaths rolled from my mouth in winding curls of white moisture as I collapsed to my knees on the gravel. I had experienced the vicious emotional drain of Dementors before—for about three months I was locked in Azkaban under suspicion of being a Death Eater. But at the time I was locked in a cell with Gabriel who kept my morale up.

As the Dementors grew closer and closer, their thin wispy cloaks billowing in the light wind, my mind was overcome with pain and fear. Memories of my Mother's death flashed in my mind—the green flash, her falling down the stairs, the Death Eater I killed shortly after that—then flashes of Lily and James' bodies lying in their destroyed house—and then Gabriel being tortured. The emotions of all these memories over whelmed me and I grabbed my head, crying out in fear. I screamed so loud the gravel under me began to shake with my fear and emotional over-load.

The Dementors did not appear to be threatened by physical powers. As my emotions began to run wild the small stones of gravel began to rise off the path around me. I was in a circle of Dementors, who were all growing closer and closer ready to kiss me—suck the soul right out of my body—the only thing that separated me from them was the floating pellets of stone around me that looked like a miniature asteroid belt.

My head slumped over my chest as the gravel continued to rotate around my body. From a distance I'm sure I looked like I was having some sort of magical episode. I appeared to be unconscious, my body not moving as if I were concentrating incredibly hard on the rotating rocks. The gravel began to fly in all directions as the Dementors grew closer and knocked against it. The ghostly figures sent the rocks flying in different directions, changing their energy and path of motion. I tried to lift my head, to get a hold of myself and stop my emotions from controlling me, but I couldn't. I felt so weak, so full of agony—Gabriel's cries filled my air as memories of him being tortured by my Father filled my head—I tried so hard to focus, to stop the screams—I grabbed my head and screamed. The pellets of gravel sailed away from me, into the Dementors who seemed unaffected by them; after all it was just gravel. They continued to advance on me, until one leaned forward, outstretching its skeleton-like hand and grasping my neck. I opened my eyes in horror as its lipless, faceless head leaned down to me—

"_Expecto patronum!_"

There was a blinding flash of white light and the Dementor released me. I fell to the ground collapsing and gasping for breath as the pellets of gravel began to fall also. The Dementors sailed away, flying away from the glowing white orb of light that appeared to hover over me.

"Cadence?" called a voice.

I lifted my head slowly as my body shook from the cold that seemed to be disappearing from around me. A figure appeared from the mist that had formed around me.

"Remus?" I questioned with a confused expression.

"Are you alright?" he asked helping me up.

"Yea, I'm fine," I sighed shoving my hair out of my face.

"What are you doing here?" He squeezed my arms and looked me up and down. "Carrigan's only been gone half a day, you're checking on her already?"

"I shouldn't have let her leave to being with," I snapped as Remus' tired eyes smiled at my over-reacting motherly behavior. "She snuck her griffin cub out of the house to bring him here to school with her."

"She has a pet griffin?" Remus asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes," I sighed. "Gabriel got him for her. Is the feast over?"

"Yes," Remus nodded. "Professor Dumbledore just sent the students to bed."

"Peachy," I said walking away. Remus turned and followed me up the gravel path towards the castle. "How was your journey here?"

"Well the Dementors stopped the train and inspected it, looking for Black," he said softly.

"What?" I questioned looking at him in disbelief.

"Everyone is fine," Remus said to comfort me. "Harry passed out; I think he heard Lily screaming."

"I hear my Mother dying, and Gabriel being tortured," I responded in understanding. "He's alright too?"

"Yea, just shaken up and a bit embarrassed," Remus said as we entered the castle. Remus and I made our way up to the headmaster's office on the seventh floor. It was good to talk to someone from my past, other then Gabriel. Remus had been such a good friend, I was mad at myself for not staying in contact with him. But when I moved to Maine I left my old life behind me completely. I didn't want to be haunted by my past—by Lily and James deaths, by Sirius' betrayal, by my Father. I realized as we walked to Dumbledore's office that I was a bad friend.

"Don't you think someone would have noticed a griffin in their dormitory?" questioned Remus as we stepped onto the rotating staircase. The statues had jumped out of the way as if Dumbledore were expecting us.

"I was supposed to meet with Dumbledore tonight," Remus said once the statues had moved. I nodded my head at him as we reached the top of the stairs; I knocked on the door and patiently waited for Dumbledore to allow us entry to his office.

"Come in," he said loudly. I opened the door and walked into the room. Dumbledore seemed surprised to see me. "Hello Miss Coleman, I was not expecting you."

"I'm sorry Headmaster," I said softly as Remus came into the room and closed the door. "I need to speak to my daughter."

"Is everything alright?" Dumbledore asked concerned.

"Yes," I nodded with a sarcastic smile. "Except that she brought her pet griffin with her to school when I told her not to."

"A griffin?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at me as he peered over his half moon shaped glasses.

"Yes," I sighed. "It's what she wanted."

"Professor Lupin, could you retrieve Carrigan Coleman for us?" Dumbledore asked. "And ask her to bring her griffin."

"Of course, Headmaster," said Remus moving back to the door of office and leaving. I looked to Dumbledore who took a seat behind his desk.

"It's the first day of term and she's causing trouble already," he smiled at me. "I had better keep a good eye on her."

"You have no idea," I sighed with a smirk as I rubbed my face. "She's probably worse trouble then Harry."

Dumbledore laughed softly. "Harry may be a great deal of trouble but he's a brilliant wizard and the trouble he causes is usually justified. Like somebody else I know."

I smiled slightly and nodded my head because Dumbledore was referring to me. I sat down in a comfortable chair and waited for my daughter to arrive toting her griffin cub.

"Is that all that worries you tonight Cadence?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, of course not," I said softly.

Dumbledore gave me a very serious, but open, blue eyed stare. He was asking me with his eyes what else was bothering me. I frowned and moved to the edge of my chair.

"You should probably check on those Dementors," I whispered. "They attacked me as I came in."

"There is tighter security on the grounds this year," Dumbledore said. "But they attacked you?"

"If it weren't for Remus they would have succeeded in kissing me."

Dumbledore frowned deeply. "I'm very sorry Cadence. I'm not very keen on having them here, but the Minister insisted despite what happened on the train today."

"Why? He honestly thinks that Black is going to come to Hogwarts?" I questioned.

"He thinks that Black is after Harry," Dumbledore shrugged.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I think Black is looking for something," he whispered after a moment of silence. "I'm not sure what he is looking for. Perhaps Harry, but I don't know why he'd be interested in murdering Harry now."

"Do you really believe that he became a follower of Voldemort?"

Dumbledore seemed puzzled by the question. "You seem to think otherwise?"

"I just keep going over it in my head," I sighed. "It doesn't make sense for him to switch sides."

"Things like this don't often make sense."

"But Headmaster," I said quickly. "I knew him. I loved him—"

"He fooled all of us," Dumbledore interrupted me. "Cadence, you can't blame yourself for his actions."

I frowned and sat back in my chair, not being happy with his response. I don't know what I wanted him to say—did I want him to tell me I was responsible? Would that make me feel better? Yea, I thought it would, because then I'd stop worrying about it.

Dumbledore gave me an all-knowing frown, which made me frown. As he looked at me with those blue eyes I knew he had used Legilimency on me and knew what I was thinking. Thankfully, the office door opened before Dumbledore could say anything and Remus came in leading Carrigan who was carrying an excited looking Hector. She was holding onto him tight as he struggled to get out of her arms to explore the new room he had just been carried into.

I hadn't seen my daughter all day, but it felt like weeks. I looked at her, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Oh, hi Mom," Carrigan said. "Professor Lupin wouldn't tell me why I had to come up here. Is everything okay? "

"Oh yea, everything's fine. I came home from work and found that Hector was missing. How long did you think you were going to go before someone noticed your two hundred pound griffin in your dormitory?"

"He's not two hundred pounds," Carrigan responded. I gave her a dark look and she immediately frowned, looking down at the ground. She knew very well that she was in trouble for her actions and her lip.

"Carrigan! You stashed a griffin in your trunk to sneak him to school where he is not allowed!" I burst.

"Mom," Carrigan said quickly. "You don't even like him."

I could only stare at her. It was not like Carrigan to have an unreasonable argument. I was expecting her to justify her actions with reasonable logic. While I may not like Hector, that was not a logical reason to bring him to school. Not for Carrigan. "Carrigan, you can't bring Hector with you to school. He doesn't belong here."

"Can't I keep him here?" Carrigan said quickly. "Can't Hagrid take care of him, maybe?"

"Don't you think Hagrid has a bit on his plate this year," I said quickly. I looked at Dumbledore. "Isn't Hagrid teaching this year?"

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Perhaps Hagrid can watch Hector also."

I looked at Dumbledore like he was crazy. "Miss Coleman, if I may," Dumbledore said. "I don't think a griffin should be kept at home; you're working so much that the creature would be alone locked up in his crate. He needs exercise, especially if he is going to grow to five hundred or more pounds."

I turned to face Carrigan with some frustration. "Your actions were still wrong. If the headmaster says he can stay here then fine. But you were out of line Carrigan. You went against the rules of the school and you disobeyed me."

"I realize what I did was wrong," she muttered.

"Can you tell me why?"

Carrigan looked down at the squirming griffin in her arms and sighed, then looked back at me with dark blue eyes. "Because you told me not to bring Hector here because he's not allowed at school. He's a special kind of pet and only cats, owls and small pets like toads or rats are allowed."

"Alright," I said with a nod of my head.

"Headmaster, can Hector stay with me tonight?" Carrigan questioned. "I don't want to just send him down to Hagrid's now…he won't understand what's going on."

Dumbledore gave Carrigan a small smile. "Yes Miss Coleman, that is fine. But after tonight he is not allowed back in the castle. He will remain on the grounds at Hagrid's where you can see him everyday."

She nodded her head. "Thank you Headmaster."

"Thank you," I said bowing my head to Dumbledore. "I'll walk Carrigan back to her common room."

"Good evening to you both," Dumbledore said standing up. "If you will excuse us, Professor Lupin and I need to have words."

"Of course," I said taking Carrigan's shoulders. "Good night."

"Good night Professor Lupin," Carrigan said smiling at him. "Headmaster."

We both exited the office in silence. Carrigan glanced up at me as we rode the rotating staircase down to the corridor. I noticed her look and raised my eyebrows at her.

"Yes?" I whispered.

"You're still mad," she sighed as Hector cawed loudly. She clapped her hand on his beak and he shook his head pulling away from her hand.

"Of course I'm mad, Carrigan," I sighed. "You did something wrong and you're not being punished for it, rather you're getting what you want by having Hector here on the grounds."

"It makes it easier on you, don't you think? Now you don't have to take care of him," she responded as he walked down the quiet corridor. "So we're all getting what we want."

I gave her a very sharp look with my green eyes, causing her to look away from me. "This isn't about what I want, Carrigan. Gabriel got that griffin for you because he loves you, and because he expected you to follow the rules that were laid out for its care—"

"Are you going to tell me now that not only did I disobey you, I indirectly disobeyed Gabriel—a man who has no authority over me—"

I grabbed Carrigan's arm and pulled her to stop in the hallway. I put my hands on my hips and stared at her with a menacing stare of confusion. What had gotten into her?

"What is going on?" I asked. "What is this really about?"

Carrigan rolled her eyes. "This is about how I brought Hector with me to school, disobeying you and apparently disrespecting Gabriel. What else is there?"

"What house are you in?" I asked as we approached the moving staircases.

"Gryffindor," she responded.

"Good, at least something has gone right today," I said stepping on the staircase that would take us to the corridor where the picture of the Fat Lady hung. I heard Carrigan sigh with annoyance, but didn't respond to it. She was standing next to me, looking at Hector in her arms, petting him and rubbing his head gently. "What happened on the train today?" I whispered.

"Dementors came," she shrugged. "Searched the train."

I could tell she was holding back. "Do you not want to tell me because you're mad at me, or do you feel like you can't tell me because I'm mad at you?"

"I just don't want to talk about it at all," Carrigan whispered as she looked at me.

I frowned and bit my bottom lip, curious as to why she didn't want to talk about it. But I didn't want to push her either. When we arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady she looked at me with curious eyes as if she knew me from her past at some point. I smiled slightly and turned to Carrigan.

"I'm mad at you now," I said holding her shoulders. "But I'll get over it. I still love you."

"I know, Mom," Carrigan said with a half smile. "I'm mad too, but I still love you."

"Well that's good," I beamed. I pulled her into my arms and we embraced for a short moment because Hector was squished and squirming between us. I looked at Carrigan with serious eyes. "If you need anything you know where to find me."

"I know," she sighed with some annoyance. I smiled slightly. She was a big girl, I reminded myself, she could take very good care of herself.

"And I'm sure Remus would be willing to help you with anything if you ask him."

"Thanks," she nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Mom, I didn't mean that stuff I said about Gabriel. I know he loves me and he's the closest thing to a Dad I have."

"I know, Carrigan," I smiled and nodded. "I won't tell him you defy his authority."

She smiled. "He wouldn't be surprised if you did tell him."

I laughed lightly. "Yes, you're right. Now go to bed." I kissed her forehead gently. "I will talk to you later. Please, behave."

"Yes, of course, Mom," she said with a beaming smile. "I love you."

My heart lifted when she said that to me. "I love you too, sweetheart."

"Good night," she smiled and waved as she looked up at the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Pickled Frogs."

I smiled as I walked away from the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, feeling more relaxed despite Carrigan's misbehavior. As I made my way out of the school I felt the familiar shiver of Dementors present. I pulled my traveling cloak tightly around me and continued to march down the gravel path as I clutched my wand carefully in my hand. I wasn't going to let the slimy ghost-like bastards get the best of me again. I didn't know if it was really a good idea to have the Dementors at Hogwarts; they were followers of my Father—couldn't be trust at all. The power Minister Fudge thought he had over the Dementors was an allusion. Their entire essence was evil. I didn't get how anyone could trust them. I didn't understand politics, especially Minister Fudge's; and I did not like the decision to have the Dementors on the castle grounds.


	13. Unlike Gabriel

"Hey, Kingsley," I said leaning into my supervisor's cubicle. Kingsley Shaklebolt looked up at me with his dark chocolate brown eyes and calm smile.

"Hello Cadence," he said softly as he looked up at me from his desk chair. "What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen Gabriel?" I asked. "I'm just coming back from lunch and I haven't seen him at all today."

"I have not seen him," Kingsley shook his head.

This made me frown. Gabriel had been off for the last two days and it was very unlike him to not show up at work. Kingsley saw the concern in my eyes and stood up, squeezing my shoulder.

"Why don't you head over to his house? It's not like him not to show," he said. I nodded my head.

"Alright," I whispered as I bit my lip. "Thanks. I'll be back in a bit."

Kingsley nodded his head and returned to his chair, turning away to finish his paper work. I sighed as worry rose up from deep inside of me. I did not like this situation one bit. I returned to my cubicle to pick up my cloak then made my way out of the office. As I walked to Gabriel's house I kept running over different reasons why he wouldn't be at work for half the day. I was worried, but also annoyed. It was unlike Gabriel to not show up at work, but also very much like him to leave all of the paper work for me to do. Maybe he had just decided to take another day off.

I kept telling myself that as I approached his flat. The London street was calm with a few people scattered about, minding their own business as they walked down the street, sat on park benches, or talked with neighbors. I kept a cautious eye on all of them; despite it being calm I had lived too long looking over my shoulder, I most certainly was not going to stop now.

When I reached Gabriel's flat I marched up the stairs and banged on his front door. After a few moments of standing on his stoop I leaned over to his front window, looking into the house. I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary from the window, just empty rooms with plan looking furniture. Gabriel was never one to live a lavished life style. He believed in simplicity and survival so the bare rooms did not surprise me. My frustration peeked at the sight of the empty house. I returned to the door and banged on it, harsher then before, but still no answer came.

As worry began to over-run my system I expanded my mind into the house with Legilimency. I could not sense Gabriel anywhere, which was strange to me. Where could he possibly have gone? He didn't have any family left to visit; and from what I knew he didn't have any friends outside of our co-workers. He could have gone to Hogwarts, but I doubted he'd go without telling me.

I turned the nod of the front door and was not surprised to find it locked. I stepped back and looked up and down the street, it was too busy to try and bust through the front door. I didn't want to draw attention to the fact that I was about to break into Gabriel's house—the last thing I needed was the Muggle police to show up and arrest me for breaking and entering.

I walked down the stoop and made my way around to the side gate that stood tall well above my head between Gabriel townhouse and the house next to his. I lifted the lock of the gate and was disappointed when it didn't move. Of course Gabriel's house was a small version of Azkaban, completely impregnable. I cursed under my breath and looked around me. There were bushes around hiding me and the gate from view of the people on the street. As I looked around I spotted the neighbors trashcans set against the wall of their house. I sighed slightly and moved to them, feeling like a juvenile child. I stepped up onto the trashcans as I hung onto the neighbor's windowsill. I was lucky they weren't home because it looked like I was trying to break into their house not Gabriel's.

Peering over the fence I saw that there was a fence dividing Gabriel's yard from the neighbors, but it easily climbable, unlike the one I was leaning over at that moment. I steadily climbed up onto the edge of the six foot wooden fence, and centered my balance. I was perched on the fence like an awkward disoriented bird, holding myself steady by leaning onto the neighbor's house wall. Once I had my ground I looked around and realized I had no way of getting off the top of the fence—unless I fell. I sighed loudly and jumped down onto the ground as my pants snagged on the fence. The snag caused me to land awkwardly and forced me into a tuck position, then a roll. I stood up straight out of the roll and cursed as I looked down at the back of my legs. There was a large tear on the back of my thigh. I bit my bottom lip and shook my head, upset. These were my favorite pants.

After a moment of morning my pants, I looked around the backyard of Gabriel's neighbors. It was a decent size yard with a small garden and shed at the back. There was a bench with a heart shaped back in the garden that made me gag a little, but I didn't stand long enough to let the scenery sink in. I easily jumped the fence dividing the yards and made my way across Gabriel's finely cut grass to his back patio.

At this point, I was annoyed with him. I had to climb over a fence just to get into his house which ripped my pants all because he had decided not to show up for work. I was going to beat the shit out of him when I finally saw him.

I reached the back kitchen door and my heart dropped into my stomach. I grabbed onto the doorknob and pulled fiercely as I looked in the door window. From where I was standing I could see Gabriel's body lying on his kitchen floor. He wasn't moving at all. I stepped back and threw my shoulder into the door, hoping it would break—but who was I kidding? This was Gabriel's house we were talking about. He had more protective charms on it then Dumbledore had on Hogwarts. I was not going to get in unless I provided a key, a secret code, or a special spell. I lifted my elbow and slammed it against the window. You can imagine my surprise when the window shattered. I really thought it wasn't going to work, so I stood on the patio in shock for a few seconds before reaching in and unlocking the door.

The door swung open dramatically as I rushed in. I moved around the kitchen table and chairs, making my way for Gabriel. The kitchen was in shambles—I don't know who Gabriel had gotten into a fight with but it had been a bad bloody fist fight. There was no evidence of magic being used to disrupt the order of the kitchen. It just looked like bodies had been tossed around.

Gabriel was lying on his stomach, his face to the floor. I knelt next to him and leaned over his head to hear him breath. I sighed with some relief when I heard his swallow breathes. I slowly began to turn his hard muscular body over, which was a greater task then it sounded; Gabriel was a fully grown heavy muscular man. Once I had him on his back I leaned over him, my hands touching his chest.

He looked beat up pretty bad, but I had seen him in a worse state. Whatever had happened, the person who did this to Gabriel was a light weight. Which raised the question, how did Gabriel end up on the floor unconscious?

"Gabriel?" I whispered his name as I shook his shoulders carefully. "Gabriel, wake up."

There was a cut on his head surrounded by a dark purple-red bruise; he had a fat lip, and bloody nose. His hands were bruised and cut; and I'm sure there were more bruises under his clothes. I stroked my hand through his hair because he still wasn't responded to me.

"Gabriel," I said his name again as I shook him harder. He still didn't respond, which made me sigh. I had to take him to St. Mungo's. I wasn't trained to heal or deal with these types of injuries. I didn't know what was wrong with him, or why he wasn't waking. He had to be unconscious, but how severe was it?

I held onto him tight and Apparated from Gabriel's kitchen floor. We appeared in a corner behind a large potted plant in the lobby of St. Mungo's. I sighed with annoyance and began to drag Gabriel's body across the floor by his shirt.

"Miss, do you need help?" asked a male voice. I stood up straight as a wizard in a white cloak approached me. He raised his light eyebrows at me as he looked between Gabriel and me.

"Well, yes, that would be nice," I said motioning to Gabriel who was still unconscious. "I found him like this in his kitchen. I don't know how long he's been out."

The nice looking healer nodded his head at me and stepped forward, leaning over Gabriel to examine him. I looked around the lobby for a moment to see that there were people waiting in chairs, looking uneasy and curious. Some of them were looking at me with cautious eyes. They knew who I was and my present made them nervous.

"Alright, let's get him to an examine room," said the healer. He stood up and waved his wand at Gabriel who began to float up into the air. The healer led the way, keeping Gabriel's body in the air ahead of him and I followed.

When we arrived in a room and Gabriel was safe on the bed, the healer began to question me about what happened.

"Tell me again," he said as he leaned over Gabriel examining his eyes and head. "You found him like this?"

"Yes," I nodded. "I don't think he was hit with spells. There was no evidence that magic was used in the kitchen. I think it was just a fist fit, but Gabriel hardly ever loses a fist fight—"

"Your husband always gets into fights Mrs.—?"

"Excuse me?" I said shocked. "Gabriel is not my husband. He's my work partner. And my name is Cadence Coleman."

The doctor did a discreet double take, but I still caught it. "I imagine you'd be a red head," he said with a charming smile. "Then that means this man is Gabriel Quintin?"

"Yes," I said baffled. "Why would I be a red head?"

The healer smiled at me. "Just such a spit fire from what I hear. You'll have to forgive me Miss Coleman, I've only lived in England for five years now. I've only seen your name in the papers recently. I don't follow media gossip, but people here do, and from what I had heard of you I imagined you'd be a red head."

I nodded my head slowly as the healer stood up straight. I was not used to people not knowing who I was. I suppose I was being a bit arrogant to think everyone in the country knew who I was…I mean most did…but obviously I couldn't expect everyone to know. It was a bit of a relief really, to not be known. Although, now that the healer knew who I was I hoped he wouldn't judge me.

"Gabriel's unconscious. It looks like he has a concussion, but I'm going to prescribe him something that will wake him up within the next couple of hours. I will also send someone in to clean him up," he added. "Are you going to stay here with him?"

"If you don't mind," I nodded.

"Alright," he said. "I'll be back in a little bit."

"Thank you." I followed the healer out of the room with my eyes, watching the way he stood tall and walked gently across the floor. His white cloak swayed behind him as he moved. There was a bode of confidence to his walk, and as he glanced back at me over his shoulder his dark green eyes made my heart flip over. When the door swung closed behind him, I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes as I gripped the bottom of the bed. I tried to shake the girlish feeling that had crept into my system as I sat down next to Gabriel's bed.

As I looked at him I realized how peaceful he looked despite being beat to a pulp. Worry had built up inside my system over what had happened. Gabriel was such a well trained fighter I found it hard to believe that many people in the world could beat him in a fight, especially to the point of knocking him unconscious. Who would do this, and why would they do it?

There was a knock at the door and before I said a word it opened and a female healer entered. She looked young, maybe twenty, and carried a care kit in her hands. She set it on the table next to the bed as she smiled at me. Her blond curls bobbed next to her face as she moved, and her candy coated lips were too perfect. I knew that as soon as Gabriel was conscious he'd be flirting with the pretty healer.

"Hello," she said. "I'm Jennifer, Healer Marcus sent me in to clean Mr. Quintin up."

I nodded my head slowly and stood as she began to clean Gabriel's cuts.

"I should go back to the office, let our boss know what is going on," I said motioning to the door. "Did Marcus say when Gabriel would be up?"

"Probably by this evening," said Healer Marcus coming into the room. I turned and saw him smiling as he carried a small potion bottle into the room with him. He handed the bottle to Jennifer who thanked him and placed it on the table next to her care kit. "Jennifer, give him half the bottle once you're done cleaning him up. He'll need the rest when he wakes."

Jennifer nodded and continued to tend to Gabriel's surface injuries. Healer Marcus touched my arm and motioned for me to step into the hall. "If I may speak to you?"

I nodded and followed him out of the examine room. I crossed my arms over my chest as Marcus stood in front of me. He turned and smiled at me, allowing me to take in his very handsome appearance.

"Gabriel will be fine," he said. "There is no need to worry. Does he have any family?"

"No," I shook my head. "Not that we know of," I added with a laugh.

Healer Marcus nodded as I smiled.

"Can I come back to see him tonight? I need to know what happened at the house," I asked.

Marcus hesitated for a moment. "When he wakes he's still going to need a great deal of rest, Miss Coleman."

"Please, call me Cadence," I interrupted. Marcus smiled.

"Donovan," he said bowing his head slightly. I bit my bottom lip and nodded my head to acknowledge him. "You can come back, but I don't think Gabriel will be well enough to discuss what happened. We won't know how severe the head injury is until he wakes."

"Do you think it's going to have long term effects?"

"No, I don't think so," Marcus shook his head. "But he might have trouble remembering things for awhile. We just have to let it heal on its own and there isn't a way of telling how long that will take."

I bit my bottom lip nervously. I wasn't sure if I could handle Gabriel being out of commission. I needed him as my partner for a reason. Despite any desire to be independent of Gabriel I needed him—it was the curse of violating our guardian-student relationship: I would always be dependent on him.

"Cadence," Marcus said touching my arm. "He will be fine. It will just take time."

I forced a smile and nodded my head. "Thank you. I need to go. I'll be back later though. Thank you, Donovan for everything."

"Of course," Marcus nodded his head. "I'll see you later then."

I nodded and turned to walk down the corridor towards the lobby of St. Mungo's. There was a nervous feeling in my stomach that caused my entire body to ache—many things were causing my nerves to spike but the biggest concern was when Gabriel would be back on his feet. The second thing that was bugging me was who the hell attacked Gabriel—it must have been someone he knew because no one would be able to get in the house. I frowned slightly as my thoughts raced. I had gotten into the house. As I left St. Mungo's I decided to return to Gabriel's townhouse to see if there was anything that I had missed in the kitchen. I couldn't fix my when Gabriel was going to be better, but I could at least figure out what had happened at the house and catch the bastard who hurt him.


	14. No More Hurt

When I reported to the Ministry I found Kingsley Shaklebolt in Rufus Scrimgeour's office. I knocked gently on the door as Scrimgeour's voice echoed loudly from within the room.

"You've lost two of your Aurors—"

"Actually, we're both accounted for," I said entering the office. Scrimgeour's face turned beat red with anger as I entered the room. I walked in and stopped next to Kingsley who was standing in front of Scrimgeour's desk. I crossed my hands in front of me and looked at Scrimgeour with a frank smile.

"Cutting it a bit close, don't you think?" Kingsley muttered.

"I was at St. Mungo's with Gabriel," I said with an apologetic tone. "I found him at his house unconscious. Someone beat the shit out of him."

Kingsley and Scrimgeour both were frowning now. "Any ideas who attacked him?" Scrimgeour asked.

"No, Sir," I said.

"How bad is it?" Kingsley asked.

"He's still unconscious," I replied. "The Healer thinks he'll be fine. Should be up by the end of the day."

Scrimgeour was looking at his desk with large grim eyes. He seemed incredibly bothered by the situation. "Not many people would get the jump on Gabriel," he said.

"Yes, Sir," I said agreeing.

"Then you know how concerning this is to me," Scrimgeour continued.

"I understand," I nodded. "I was planning on heading over to the house to see if I missed anything. When I was there earlier I did see any trace of magic in the destruction, but I was focused on Gabriel, I could have missed something."

"Alright," Scrimgeour said with a sigh as he rubbed his face. "Get over there, figure out what happened."

"Can I go back to see Gabriel tonight, Sir?"

"Check in with Kingsley first," Scrimgeour said pointing to Kingsley. "Find out what happened, report in, then go see Gabriel."

I nodded. "Alright." I turned before another word could be said and left the office. As I made my way out of the Ministry the only thing I could think was it was a good thing Carrigan was away at school. I wouldn't have been able to manage this mess with her at home and no one to watch her. She may have been old enough to be left at home alone, but call me over-protective, I wasn't going to leave my daughter home alone when her Father, a notorious mass-murderer, was on the lose.

I got into Gabriel's house the same way I had before, but now it was late enough for the sun to be setting behind the house. As I entered the kitchen my booted feet stepped on broken glass interrupting the quiet of the house as I entered. I sighed and looked around the dark kitchen. The table was flipped on its side, chairs were knocked over, dishes broken, the stove smashed and cabinets ripped open. I stepped around the room looking closely at the destruction trying to figure out where the fight began. I followed a trail of broken glass across the kitchen to the swinging door that lead to the dinning room. When I pushed through the door I saw that this room was also destroyed. The dinning room table was smashed as if someone had been thrown on it and as I bent over it, something glinted in the setting sun light. I moved forward, stepping on the table and causing it to creek. I reached out and knocked some broken wood out of the way, picking up a small glass tube. Inside the tube was a thin sliver of bluish silver rock. I recognized it immediately; the sight of the charm caused my heart to drop into my stomach and my head to spin.

The sliver of rock was a piece of the star Sirius from the dog constellation in the winter sky. I had made the necklace for Sirius as a Christmas gift in our seventh year. If this necklace was here in the dinning room that meant that Sirius Black was the person who attacked Gabriel and left him in a comma on the kitchen floor.

Without realizing it my blood was boiling through my entire body. The room around me began to shake with my anger and a gigantic crack broke through the wooden floor boards as if an earth quake was breaking it.

"Cadence," said a voice.

I stood up straight from my bent position instantly and turned, my cloak whipping around me in a dramatic fashion. My eyes fell upon the tall skinny figure of Sirius Black. He stood before me, in the front sitting room of Gabriel's house, in dirty baggy black and white Azkaban robes with a black cloak pulled over them. His shirt was opened half down his chest, revealing his skinny thin chest and the dove tattoo over his heart—a tattoo for me. I bet he regretted getting that inked into his skin. His long black hair was thin and matted, and his face was covered in a thick beard. Despite his ugly appearance his midnight blue eyes were still handsome. The shade of his eyes matched the bluish tint of the sliver in the necklace I had made him. That was the shade of my daughter's eyes; of Sirius' daughter's eyes. They held my gaze for a few moments before a fire of hatred lit in my heart.

I marched across the destroyed dinning room and into the living room. Sirius stood his ground as I approached him. I pulled my fist back as I balled it and slammed it straight into his jaw. When my fist made contact with his skin, Sirius grabbed me around the waist, lifting me up and slamming me against the closest wall. I groaned as he dropped me and I slid down the wall to the ground. He made to move away but I screamed in anger and lifted my foot harshly into his groin. The strike completely caught him off guard, and he keeled over, grabbing his groin. I kicked his stomach and then his face, knocking him until he was lying on the ground.

"Cadence! Stop!" he yelled as I begin to sob.

"You killed them!" I screamed grabbing his collar and straddling him to pin him to the ground. "You turned them over like they were nothing!"

"Shut up!" he threw me off of him—catching me off guard. I hadn't expected him to have such strength considering his fragile appearance and me just kicking the crap out of him. I groaned as I fell on the side with my damaged ribs. I bit my bottom lip with annoyance. I had just stopped wearing that stupid torso brace and now Sirius had damaged my ribs again. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

I didn't know what I was talking about? What the hell _was he talking about_? Before Sirius could move far away from me I conjured a dagger and rolled towards him. I placed the dagger against his throat as he sat up, which caused him to freeze on spot. We were both gasping for breath as we sat on the sitting room floor. Sirius was looking me up and down.

"You look good," he finally said after the long awkward silence that had fallen between us.

"Shut up!" I snapped. "You're lucky I don't kill you now!"

"You won't kill me, Cadence," he said wisely. "We both know that. You may be capable of it, but you won't. That would make you no better then me."

"No. I'm not like you," I shook my head. "But killing you would be justified."

Sirius shrugged slightly, making me sick.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I snapped.

"I came to visit," he said keeping a calm tone. "I figured you and Gabriel were shacking up—"

I punched him clean across the face, so hard that he fell back against the wall. I began to stand up, and Sirius lunged forward, knocking me over to the ground again. Gabriel would have been disappointed with how easily I let my guard down. Sirius stole the dagger from my hand and pinned me to the ground. I looked up at him with fear as he raised the dagger over his head.

Fear filled my entire body—this wasn't right—I shouldn't die like this. The floor began to shake underneath me, but that didn't seem to distract Sirius. He swung the dagger swiftly down and I let out a small scream. The knife stabbed into the wooden floor, catching my shirt and pinning me down. I sighed with relief as Sirius stood up.

"I wouldn't kill you Cadence," he said shaking his hands as he cracked his neck. "Just like you wouldn't kill me." He turned away from me and grew silent for a moment. "I could never kill anyone. I can't have you following me. I'm sorry about Gabriel. I bloodied him up pretty bad—just returning the favor he paid me." I pulled at the dagger by my side, but it was stuck into the floor board pretty deep. I sighed with frustration and glared at Sirius. "Good bye."

He Disapparated from the living room with a loud crack. It was like he had never been there—as if I had a bad dream and we hadn't just fought—I screamed in outrage and yanked the dagger from the floor. I sat up and looked down at the hole in my shirt and cloak, cursing under my breath. Well, I had found out who attacked Gabriel. Finding Sirius had only provided more questions, not answers.

Scrimgeour was not happy with my report when I check in at the Ministry before returning to St. Mungo's. He had been afraid that Sirius Black was responsible for attacking Gabriel, but he had also hoped he wouldn't be right. He seemed concerned with my safety, but I refused any protection from him—because I refused protection he benched me. I was no longer to report to work. I was so angry with his decision I left his office, I didn't even argue.

When I arrived at St. Mungo's it was almost ten o'clock at night. I walked through the lobby, heading straight for the corridor that led to Gabriel's examine room. I entered the room and was surprised to see that it was empty. For a moment alarm shot through my system. I turned to leave the room and ran straight into Healer Marcus' chest. I almost went falling backwards, but Marcus grabbed me around my waist and held me tight, catching me between his arms and chest.

"Donovan," I said surprised.

"Cadence, you okay?" he asked release me as I stood up straight. I sighed and fixed my cloak.

"No," I shook my head. "Where is Gabriel?"

"He's upstairs in a ward," Marcus said. "He's awake if you'd like to see him."

"Yes," I said quickly as Marcus led me out of the room. "I need to speak to him, right away."

"He still needs to rest, Cadence," Marcus said with a serious tone. "I don't know how much you can put on him right now."

We entered the private ward and stopped short of the entrance. I raised my eyebrows at the bed where Gabriel lie, sitting up and stroking the cheek of the pretty Healer Jennifer that I had seen earlier that day. She was sitting on the side of his bed, leaning towards him. I turned to Marcus, crossing my arms over my chest as I raised my eyebrows.

"I think he can handle me talking to him," I said smartly. Marcus smirked.

"Perhaps he can," he smiled at me in return. I nodded and moved forward.

"Excuse me," I said with a harsh tone to Jennifer. "Could you excuse us, please?"

Jennifer looked uncomfortable and stood up and Gabriel's dark purple eyes gave me an all knowing sharp glare. I gave him a firm smile.

"Don't be threatened by Cadence, Jennifer," he said squeezing the Healer's hand.

"Jennifer," said Marcus. I glanced at him as he nodded his head at the door. "I need to speak to you."

"I'm not threatening," I responded harshly to Gabriel. I held up the glass tube of Sirius' necklace and his face fell as he looked at me. "We have bigger issues then you flirting."

Jennifer gave me a nasty look as he walked out of the ward. I watched her as she left, not feeling threatened by her pretty little blonde head. I turned to Gabriel and raised my eyebrows at him.

"We need to talk," I said seriously.

"Yea, I got that impression," Gabriel said with a nod of his head. I took the spot where Jennifer had been sitting on the bed and crossed my arms over my lap. Gabriel looked better—first of all he was awake, and second he had been cleaned up and healed. There was color back in his face and blood no longer stained his flesh.

"First of all, Jennifer is younger then I am," I said motioning to the door.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and smiled at me, reaching out and stroking my cheek.

"Age is just a number darling," he said with that charming smirk. My heart melted at the sight of his smile and velvet purple eyes. I was just happy to see him awake and acting like his normal self. Gabriel's hand slid down my cheek and rested on my neck. His fingers played with my long curls; he twirled them around his fingers. "Are you going to let me kiss you, or is that going to ruin your pending relationship with the good Healer?"

"What?" I snipped. "I don't have a pending relationship with Donovan."

Gabriel laughed out loud and shook his head as he smiled. "Ah, Cadence. You're always good for a laugh."

"Ha, thanks," I snapped slapping his hand away from my hair. Gabriel gave me a soft smile as he caught my hand in his then lifted to his lips. I let him kiss my fingers once before pulling my hand from his grasp. "Tell me what happened, Gabriel."

Gabriel looked at me with embarrassment and sighed. "Sirius was at the house."

"How'd he get the slip on you?" I asked confused.

"I don't know," Gabriel shrugged. "I came home after taking you to the Ministry and he was waiting. He said he wanted to talk to me."

"About what?"

Gabriel looked at me like I was dumb. "About what happened twelve years ago. Remember how I told you when I arrested him he kept going on and on that he was innocent. That he wasn't the Potters' secret-keeper, someone else was."

I nodded as I studied Gabriel with serious eyes. I wasn't sure where these thoughts were going to lead us, and honestly I was a little scared. Sirius had broken out of Azkaban because he was innocent? That was just ridiculous. He had been the Potters' secret keeper—who else would have? He was their first choice.

"He didn't want to be their secret keeper," I whispered looking at the ground. I bit my bottom lip as my stomach did a flip and ambivalence rose up in me. Was I actually going to say I believed Sirius?

"Cadence?" Gabriel said my name and took my hand. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know," I whispered with some nervousness in my voice. "I don't really know what I'm thinking right now. He didn't kill me in your house though—"

"What?" Gabriel shook his head confused. "My house? You saw him?"

"Yea," I nodded. "And he had the chance to kill me but he didn't. Don't you think a mass murderer would kill me if he had the chance?"

"No," Gabriel said. "Murderers kill for a reason. And in Sirius' twisted mind he probably can't kill you. You're the daughter of his leader and you're his ex love. He couldn't kill you."

"He could kill me out of revenge," I said. "I did turn down his marriage proposal after all."

"Maybe Sirius has moved on from that."

"Ah," I said with a smile and nodded. "Sirius Black is an evolved man now. I guess twelve years in Azkaban did some good if he's forgiven me for turning him down."

Gabriel looked at me closely. "But twelve years has not done you any good," he whispered.

"What?"

Gabriel gave me an all knowing smile. "Cadence," he said my name very gently. "You still love him."

I frowned. "I will always love him."

This response did not seem to please or bother Gabriel. He kept such a straight face I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He always did that. He was a master at disguising his emotions and thoughts—of all the things he had taught me, I wish he had taught me how to do that.

"Cadence," he said very seriously.

"Even if I do love him still," I said quickly interrupting him. "That doesn't change what happened, Gabriel. Sirius and I are a thing of the past. We were over long before he went to Azkaban. You know that."

Gabriel nodded his head slowly. His beautiful lips spread into a wicked smile that made my heart melt. In his purple eyes I could see a familiar passionate gleam. My heart skipped a beat and I looked at him curiously.

"What?" I asked as I tucked my hair behind my ear.

"I just was thinking about kissing you," he shrugged.

"Oh," I frowned. "Of course."

"Cadence," Gabriel said my name carefully. I looked at him with dark serious eyes and he smiled. He took my hands and squeezed them gently. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Finding me," he said. "You saved my life."

I rolled my eyes. "You're welcome," I said. "It's not a big deal. You'd do the same for me."

"I would," he nodded in agreement.

"Gabriel, you haven't told me what you and Sirius fought about," I said slowly. "So, he wanted to talk—who threw the first punch?"

"I did," Gabriel said. "I usually have a good temper. It takes a lot to get under my skin, but Sirius always gets under my skin."

"He does because of me," I whispered looking down. "Gabriel since I was fifteen you've only lost your temper when it concerned me, our relationship or my safety."

Gabriel smiled and nodded his head. "We can't help it, Cadence."

"I know," I responded. "What did he say?"

"Just asked if the sex was good," Gabriel replied after a moment of hesitation.

"You don't have to defend my honor."

"It's not fair that he assumes those things," Gabriel shook his head.

"I think to some extent it is," I shrugged. "We've been in love for a long time Gabriel. I was having an emotional affair with you. I should have left Sirius a long time before he left me."

"If you had left him," Gabriel's deep husky voice spoke slowly. "Would we have been together?"

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Sometimes I'm afraid of being with you. I'm afraid of how fate will punish us more. We weren't supposed to love each other, we did and Jennifer died because of it. Now we're cursed to always be reliant on the other."

"Is that such a bad thing when we love each other?" he asked wisely.

I looked at his dark purple eyes and felt my body melt a little. No, I thought to myself. It wasn't a bad thing at all. As a matter of fact I wanted to throw my body on top of Gabriel's at that moment; kiss him slowly, let him touch me all over, hold him and make love to him.

"But image what would happen if we were together?" I whispered sadly.

"I know," he nodded. He reached out and touched my cheek. "I know this as close as I'm going to get."

"Gabriel," I sighed leaning into his palm. I kissed it gently and took his hand, holding it in my lap. "I love you."

He gave me a charming smile and squeezed my hand, then pulled me towards him. I couldn't help but smile as he pulled me up the bed and into his arms. He kissed my forehead and tilted my head up to his, setting soft kisses on my lips. I sighed slightly against him and laid my head in the crook of his neck.

"I think, Cadence," he whispered. "Whether either of us will admit it or not, we are involved."

"Of course we are," I agreed as he stroked my hair. "We're involved in a complex relationship that involves us spending the rest of our lives together. But Gabriel, I am not your girlfriend nor will I ever be."

"Maybe we should just skip to wife," he joked.

I punched him in the stomach and he groaned. "You can't beat up on me when I'm injured!"

"Well you deserved it," I retorted. Gabriel grabbed my wrist and held it tight as his other arm was wrapped around me.

"I would never marry you," he said. "You're too intolerable."

"Yea, you're one to talk," I hissed. Gabriel laughed and leaned down, kissing me again. He pulled away slowly and his dark purple eyes stared into mine. I couldn't tell what he was thinking. His dark look was near perfection; handsome in everyway imaginable; the only thing I could think was that I was fool for not giving myself to him—for not being with him or being his. As usual, I was a fool.

"You need to rest," I whispered pulling away and breaking our tender stare. Gabriel laid back on his pillow as I stood up from the bed. "Healer Marcus doesn't think you're strong enough to go home yet."

"Yes, I know," Gabriel sighed. "I don't like being here though."

"Ha!" I laughed. "Now you know how I felt all those times I was stuck in bed and you paraded around like you owned the world."

"You like that the roles are reversed?" he smiled.

"Yea," I said nodding as I straightened my cloak. "I think I do."

"Don't get used to it."

I gave him a warning glare and he smiled more broadly. "I'm leaving tomorrow whether they think I should or not," he said.

"That doesn't shock me. In the mean time, I'm going to try and figure out what Sirius Black is up to."

"He's after Harry," Gabriel said. "I'm sure of it."

I frowned as I bit my bottom lip. "I'm not so sure," I whispered. "I'm still stuck on the fact that he didn't kill me today."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I hope you're not relying on some false hope that he's innocent, Cadence."

His comment made my stomach tighten a little. Of course I wasn't hoping Sirius was innocent—that would mean all these years of hating him were over nothing and I was a fool again. I didn't like it when I was put in a foolish position. I was fooled enough by Sirius…him actually being innocent was the last thing I needed. I'm sure he'd turn it around on me like he turned everything else around. He'd be upset that I never believed him…that I gave up on him even though he left me…

"I'm surprised he didn't bring anything of our past up," I whispered suddenly.

"Why?"

"I thought he'd be more upset with me," I shrugged. "I thought he'd kill me because he hates me."

"I think he has bigger plans on his agenda then killing you," Gabriel said. "He's going after Harry."

"I guess we'll have to do our jobs and find out," I retorted. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. I'll come get you from this place."

"Thank you," he said with a sigh of relief. I bid Gabriel one last good bye, then turned and exited the private ward. I walked down the corridor towards the staircase that led back to the main floor lobby. As I descended the stairs, Marcus met me coming up them.

"Ah, Cadence," he said. "I was just coming up to check on you and Gabriel. Is everything alright?"

"Yes," I nodded. "He's fine. He wants to leave tomorrow though. I'll be back in the morning to take him home."

"I'd advise against that, but it doesn't seem like Gabriel is the type of man to listen to my professional opinion anyways."

I smiled at Marcus' handsome eyes and nodded my head. "No, he isn't."

"Alright then," he beamed. "May I ask you a question Cadence?"

"Yes, of course," I said as we began to descend the stairs.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime," he said slowly. "Maybe to get a bite to eat, or drinks?"

I stopped dead on the stairs and looked at Marcus with bewildered eyes. Not many men had ever asked me out. First off, I didn't date when I lived in America. Sirius was my first boyfriend and no one asked me out because everyone knew I was dating him. Secondly, my reputation as Voldemort's daughter kind of turned guys off. Then lastly, after Sirius left I always had Gabriel and Carrigan. I didn't need anyone else. Being asked out by Marcus was very flattering, but I didn't know how to respond. I was socially challenged.

"I—I," was all I could muster.

"I'm sorry," Marcus said with a frown. "It was inappropriate of me to ask considering the situation. Forgive me."

"No," I said quickly as he turned to head back up the stairs. "No, Donovan I'm sorry. My social skills are impaired, I'm sorry. I'm not interested though. I'm just…well I like being single. It's easier for me that way. I'm sorry. I'm very flattered that you asked."

Marcus nodded. "Alright. Well it was a pleasure, Cadence." He bowed his head and turned away form me, marching up the stairs towards the floor that Gabriel's ward was on.

I slapped my hand to my head as I turned and finished walking down the stairs. Why did I always refuse perfectly decent men? Did I have that high of standards that I didn't think any man was good enough for me? Or did I have that low of self-worth that I thought I wasn't good enough for any man? I sighed as I passed through the lobby in a half daze because I was thinking so intently on the situation that had just occurred. No, it wasn't either of those reasons. It was because my life was complicated already. And I had learned the hard way, from Sirius, that it was better to be alone. If I didn't depend on anyone emotional then I wouldn't emotionally get hurt. It's only those closest to you that can hurt you. I was tired of letting people hurt me. First my Mother, then my Father and finally Sirius. Nope. No more hurt.


	15. Letter Exchange

_Dear Mom, _

_I hope this letter finds you well. I'm sorry that I haven't written as often as you would like me to. I have been buried under school work. I knew that it was going to be hard doing second year work, but I didn't realize how hard. I spend at least three hours every night doing homework. The only time I've left the castle to do anything is to watch the Quidditch games….otherwise I just stay in the common room or library studying. _

_Mom, I'm not going to lie. These last two months have been a really hard transition and I'm starting to think it was a mistake to not change my name. I'm okay…I am…to some extent. People are putting the dots together though. First off, because of the name Coleman they know I'm your daughter. Then, they see all those wanted posters for Father and his picture in the paper every week. Yesterday, before the Halloween feast, an awesome Slytherin girl did the honors of putting two and two together for our entire potions class—she "accidentally" called me Carrigan Black, and when she "noticed" her mistake, she said "Sorry, you just look so much like your Father." I slugged her in the jaw. I'm not really proud of what I did…but the punch would have made both you and Gabriel proud. I knocked the girl clean off her feet. _

_That's why I'm writing to you. Professor McGonagall said either I could tell you, or she would. I'm sure she's sending a letter along anyways to inform you of my misbehavior and that I have a months worth of detention. As if three hours of homework a night wasn't bad enough, now I have detention every night for a month also. _

_I don't know what came over me. I just slugged her. She called me Black, Mom. She called me his daughter…and she said I looked so much like him, which implies that I look like a man! I was just so offended and I wanted to teach her a lesson. She's been bugging me since the start of term. I think she's destined to be my arch enemy—I mean she's in Slytherin and she kind of has powers like me. You never told me that others would have powers like me. I mean, I figured some people would because Gabriel does. But Mom, this girl, her name is Divinity Jasper, she has some kind of mental telepathic power. She reads people way too well and it's not just Legilimency because she didn't use it on me at all. At least, I didn't feel her use it on me. She just knew things…she talks as if she's an adult…but she looks my age. It's weird. I don't know what to make of it…_

_Anyways, please don't be mad at me Mom. I swear, what I did was in self defense. Divinity had it coming. If I hadn't socked her a good one she would have kept talking and then her dumb friends would have cursed me when I turned my back. Harry actually stepped in when I socked her. This all happened after my potions class. As Ginny and I were making our way to the feast for dinner it all started. When I punched Divinity, her friends pulled their wands, like they were actually going to do something to hurt me or something. Harry, Ron and Hermione were walking by and saw the fight. Harry jumped in, lifting his wand to them. Mom, he's kind of spectacular. Harry is a great friend. I'm really happy I've gotten to know him. And Ginny is probably my best friend. It's nice to have them…they've helped me through all of this stupid drama with my name and who I am. Harry knows. I told him. I didn't tell him that Dad killed his parents…I just told him that's who my Father was…and he didn't know how to react at first. Which I don't blame him. He's okay now though…but I'm afraid of what will happen when he finds out that Father killed his parents. Is he going to hate me? Can I blame him for hating me? _

_Alright Mom, I think I've written enough and it's the end of my first detention session. Now I have to go do hours of homework before class tomorrow morning. I love you and I hope you're doing well. Tell Gabriel I miss him! _

_Carrigan _

_PS-Hector is doing well here! He loves Hagrid who takes very good care of him. I go to see him everyday and if it's nice out I sit with him out hear Hagrid's hut and do my homework. Thank you for letting him stay here with me. I don't know if I'd be able to do this with out him...he's good company. _

_

* * *

_

_Dear Miss Coleman, _

_Hello, I'm writing to you today concerning an incident that happened yesterday with your daughter Carrigan Coleman. Before the Halloween feast I walked into the Great Hall to find Carrigan in hand-to-hand, Muggle combat with another student. I broke up the fight and found that Carrigan had started it. _

_I wished to inform you of her behavior, and also that she has been given detention every evening for the next month as punishment. Fifty points was also taken away from Gryffindor. I encouraged Carrigan to write to you, addressing the issue, so I hope this letter does not come as a surprise to you. If you have any questions or concerns please write to me whenever you feel the need. _

_Sincerely, _

_Professor Minerva McGonagall_

_

* * *

_

_Dear Carrigan, _

_I'm disappointed to hear that you resorted to violence to solve a verbal disagreement you were having with another student. Yes, I may be proud that you know how to defend yourself but you should not exert force onto other people. Before you know it you will no longer be the bullied but the bully. Please be more careful about your decisions. Yes, I want you to stand up for yourself, your friends, and what you believe, but violence is not always the answer to a problem. You're a smart girl, I'm sure you could come up with witty responses to the insults you're receiving. Unfortunately Carrigan, we live in a dark dangerous world. Because of who you are, people are going to come after you all the time—verbally, mentally and physically. Right now, don't respond physically unless they attack you physically. If Divinity Jasper continues to harass you verbally, respond verbally. Please, I do not want to hear of you starting another fist fight ever again. _

_Now, concerning how you're being treated because of your identity. I am sorry that I was not a parent and changed your name. I should have. I let you down Carrigan. I wanted you to like you name and I wished to be respectful of your wishes, but I should have been the parent. I should have made the decision that would have kept you the safest from the violence that your name can cause. With that said, you need to do your best to ignore the harassment. I know it's hard, trust me. I went to my dorm some nights and found hippogriff poop in my bed. You need to stay positive. Sticks and stones, love. Just remember that. Let it all roll right off your shoulder. It sounds like you have good friends there who can support and help you. If you need me, you know where to find me. _

_I wouldn't worry about Harry being mad at you about your Father. He seems like a sensible kid, and a sensible person would know that we do not choose our parents, nor are we responsible for their actions. If he does get mad just give him so space. Harry is a good kid, but like you he has a lot from his past on his plate. He comes with a lot of baggage and he needs to work it all out before he can be okay with you. I hope that helps, Carrigan. _

_Please behave. I love you and will see you soon. Gabriel says hello and that he misses you too. Be good! _

_Love Always, _

_Mom. _


	16. Oil and Water

A few days after receiving Carrigan's letter I came downstairs to find the Headmaster of Hogwarts sitting in my kitchen drinking tea with Gabriel Quintin. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment because the Professor had come at such an awkward time. I had let Gabriel stay the night, which made the situation appear that we were intimate. Plus, I was still in my pajamas consisting of shorts and a tank top. When I saw the old man in the kitchen I detoured to the front closet and pulled out Gabriel's pull over he had worn into the house last night. I pulled it on and as I walked down the hall to the kitchen I realized wearing Gabriel's clothes only made the situation look worse. I sighed and tried to relax. I was an adult. I could ask Gabriel to spend the night if I wished.

"Good morning Miss Coleman," Albus Dumbledore said as I walked into the room. He wore long emerald green robes today that made his light blue eyes stand out brightly. He smiled at me and bowed his head in greeting. "Forgive me for calling on you so early."

"It's alright," I said looking at Gabriel with a shy glance. I forced a smile at Dumbledore and crossed my arms over my chest. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm assuming Carrigan wrote to you," he said.

"Yes, about punching Divinity Jasper in the face," I nodded. "That's why you're here, because of Divinity?"

Dumbledore frowned. "Your niece is the second reason I am here. The first is Sirius Black. He broke into Hogwarts on Halloween and destroyed the portrait of the Fat Lady. It is evident that he was trying to get into Gryffindor Tower. We're not sure if he was looking for Harry or Carrigan."

I touched my throat and sank down into a chair with a soft sigh. "Carrigan didn't mention that in her letter."

"I'm surprised she didn't," Dumbledore said then sipped his tea.

"Dumbledore was just telling me that they didn't find Black on the grounds," Gabriel said as he poured me a cup of tea. I took it and drank it quickly, wishing desperately that there was something much stronger in it. "Cadence," Gabriel said my name softly. I looked up at him with sad eyes. "She probably didn't say anything because she didn't want you to worry."

I nodded and leaned back in my chair, still frowning. Dumbledore was studying me with curious eyes.

"Do you think he knows about Carrigan?"

"Not from me," I said looking to Gabriel. "Did that come up while you were fighting?"

Gabriel frowned and looked at his tea cup. I reached out, touching his arm.

"Gabriel?" I questioned. "What didn't you tell me?"

"He said he knew about our daughter," Gabriel said. My heart fell into my stomach. "That's why he didn't believe me when I told him I didn't know what it was like to be with you."

"Why didn't you tell me this a month ago when it happened?" I asked with annoyance on my tongue.

"I didn't think it was of importance," Gabriel shrugged. "I thought it might be safer for him to assume Carrigan is my child. Maybe then he'd stay away from her."

I slapped my hand against my head and sighed loudly.

"Well now I'm really surprised he didn't kill me," I whispered looking back up at Dumbledore. "You think he's after Harry then?"

"I think his intentions are still unclear," Dumbledore replied. He had a similar answer to my questions at the beginning of term when I came to speak to him about Carrigan's griffin Hector. "There are a lot of unanswered questions concerning what happened that night. When Gabriel arrested him, for example, he insisted he was innocent despite just blowing up half a street of people. Either we are missing a very important part of the story of the Potters death, or Sirius Black is a mentally ill mad man."

"I'm going with mentally ill mad man," Gabriel responded.

"Cadence?" Dumbledore said my name softly with half a smile. "You disagree?"

"I think that Sirius is out of control and we need to stop him before he actual hurts someone. We've gotten lucky so far," I responded. "I thought by now he'd kill half the city."

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Yes, this is probably true."

"How do you think he got into Hogwarts?" Gabriel asked.

"I'm not sure," Dumbledore said. "But I have a few theories."

"Does one of them involve Remus Lupin?"

"No," I responded. "Remus wouldn't do that. We checked him out over the summer Gabriel."

Gabriel gave me a disappointed look. It was a look that I had seen numerous times in my youth, when he was responsible for my training and safety. He gave me that look when I made the stupid decision to trust anyone—including him. At this point in my life, Gabriel was really the only person I could trust. I trusted him with my life and Carrigan's…no other person had earned that right.

"I don't believe Remus is responsible," said Dumbledore before Gabriel could tell me I was being stupid and that I shouldn't trust anyone. He didn't have to say it verbally though. His eyes said every word with that harsh look. He made me feel like a child again—perhaps the reason I was so childish was because he treated me like such.

"And you're not the first to suggest it," Dumbledore added. "Snape also seemed cautious of your old school friend."

"Snape?" I questioned. I rolled my eyes as a dark demeanor fell over me. "Now that is a man you shouldn't trust, Professor."

"I find that I can trust Snape," responded Dumbledore shortly. There was a cross tone in his words, but his eyes remained pleasant and calm. I sighed and sat back in my chair, disappointed that Dumbledore would defend Severus Snape who was responsible for exposing my true identity as Voldemort's daughter to the entire school at the end of my sixth year. Also, Severus Snape was a Death Eater—he claimed to have switched sides after James and Lily's death, but I didn't buy it. He was just trying to save himself from the prosecution of Death Eaters that occurred after my Father's demise.

"What of Divinity?" Gabriel asked changing the subject.

I sighed. I hadn't believed Carrigan's letter when I read it at first. I had to reread the name of the girl she had punched over and over again because there was no way that Divinity Jasper was attended Hogwarts.

Divinity Jasper was actually my niece Haiden Drake who had been kidnapped by Death Eaters when she was two. I had met her once, when she was five, but she looked as if she were eight. Her Father was my half-brother Braven Drake, and her Mother was said to be a mythical goddess. I didn't know or fully understand Divinity's story—I was mystified by her when I met her. She was a magically gifted child—with pure blood of Voldemort in her, and magical blood of a goddess.

"Divinity is attended Hogwarts in her second year," Dumbledore said very slowly.

"I don't understand," I said shaking my head. "How is that even possible? She'd be eighteen now."

"She looks like she is twelve," Dumbledore shrugged sadly. "Divinity is a mystery to all of us. I fear that Voldemort experimented with age spells and potions on her to ensure her survival even if he was gone. She has been raised as a Death Eater, she believes in Dark Magic and is a _very_ powerful witch."

"I'd say so," Gabriel nodded. "Do you know if someone has been training her?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "The Jaspers do not allow me to have a particular interest in their family. Whatever Divinity is living I promise you that Marcus Jasper loves her very much, but despite that love he knows who his master is. Voldemort had very dark intentions for Divinity."

"It sounds like she is being abused and neglected," I said harshly.

"Perhaps," Dumbledore whispered. "But we do not know enough to get involved in the situation. Divinity does not complain of abuse, nor does she show signs of it. She is simply a happy, rather vicious, child, but no more so then the Malfoy's boy Draco."

I frowned deeply. "I don't like it," I said shaking my head. "I feel as helpless now as I did when she was first taken. How can I sit here and not save her?"

Gabriel sighed loudly. "We went over this then, Cadence. Divinity isn't Haiden. Your niece is dead. Divinity now controls her, and she is a completely different child."

I turned away from him, giving him an ugly glare. I stood up and picked up the tea cups, not caring if Dumbledore and Gabriel weren't done with them. I went to the sink and began to clean them.

"What should I tell Carrigan?" I asked.

"I don't think you should tell her anything," Dumbledore said standing up. "But you are her Mother and that is ultimately your decision."

I didn't look at him but nodded. I kept my eyes fixated on the sink in front of me that was full of dirty dishes. I hadn't done the dishes in weeks. I was never one to keep a clean house—Gabriel always did.

"Well, I must be off," Dumbledore said as he pulled on his cloak. "I have a meeting at the Ministry in a few minutes. Thank you for the tea, and forgiving me for stopping by so early."

I glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see that it said six twenty one. I turned and bowed my head to Dumbledore.

"Of course," I said. "Thank you for coming by. I appreciate it."

"I'll walk you out," Gabriel said motioning for Dumbledore to exit the kitchen first. I leaned against the counter as the two men walked out, then turned and went back to washing the dishes. I was frustrated with the situation regarding Divinity. I didn't understand how those two men expected me to stand by and just let her continue to live as a Death Eater. She had a right to know the truth of her lineage, and that there were good people who still loved her out there.

"Cadence," Gabriel said coming up behind me. I sighed. I hadn't heard him creep up on me. "I know what you're thinking and you have to let it go."

"I never understood how you just gave up on her," I said shaking my head.

"I was her teacher, I knew when she was lost," he whispered as he leaned against me. I turned and pushed him away.

"You were my teacher," I snapped. "Why didn't you give up on me?"

Gabriel frowned at me with a dark green stare. When I had went to bed those eyes were dark brown, now seeing them green tore a hole in my heart. I thought of Lily Potter, my best friend, who had green eyes like me.

"You were never lost," he whispered stroking my hair behind my ear.

I slapped his hand away from me and tried to move away from him but he had me caught between the counter and his massive muscular body. "Gabriel," I sighed with agitation. "Let me free."

Gabriel stepped back and bowed his head to me. I rolled my eyes and walked away from him, heading back upstairs to my bedroom. As I marched up the stairs I heard him follow me.

"I would never give up on you," Gabriel yelled up the stairs as I made my way into my bedroom. I stopped and looked down the staircase at him.

"That's my point," I yelled back at him. "Maybe Divinity needs someone who won't give up on her!"

I walked into the bedroom and slammed the door so violently that the doorframe cracked. I sighed with frustration and picked my wand up off the bedside table, flicking it at the door to repair the damage I had just done. As soon as the wood was fixed Gabriel entered the bedroom without knocking, which only made me more upset with him.

"Gabriel, I don't want to fight," I snapped. "Get out of my room."

"No," he said shaking his head. "You want to fight. You pick fights with me all the time—let's fight, Cadence."

I could only glare at him as I put my hands on my hips. No, I really didn't want to fight with Gabriel. No agreement was going to come from this argument. I thought he and Dumbledore had given up on Divinity prematurely. I thought that we should still be fighting for her—I thought that Gabriel would get that.

"What if it were Carrigan?" I asked. "What if it were her who was missing?"

"We would find her," Gabriel said. "Divinity isn't Carrigan, and she isn't you Cadence. You forget what she is and what she stands for. Divinity is beyond this life, beyond good and evil."

"But obviously she is evil if she has been raised that way," I snapped.

"Cadence," Gabriel sighed with his own frustration. I could see that he felt like he was talking to a wall; I felt the same way. "You can't save her. No matter what happens, Divinity will be fine. Her Mother will protect her. She may be manipulated for the purposes of your Father, but she will rise above them. You have to trust in her power."

"She's a child!"

"She's eighteen," Gabriel responded. "And more adult then you ever have been."

I picked up an oil lamp from the bedside table and chucked it across the room at Gabriel. He dodged it, allowing it to smash against the bedroom wall into messy pieces of oil covered glass. Gabriel looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not a child Gabriel!" I screamed. "You insist on treating me like one maybe that's why I act like one! I never was this childish with Sirius! Maybe that's why I let him screw me!"

The moment the words left my mouth I regretted them. I stood up straight and crossed my arms over my chest as Gabriel smiled and nodded. He ran his hand through his long hair and turned, leaving the room without another word. I sighed as tears filled my eyes. I wiped them quickly and sat down on the bed. I wasn't going to go after him. I wasn't going to apologize. He had to realize he couldn't treat me like this; like I was a dumb little girl that he needed to protect.

I looked at the bedroom door, as if hoping he'd come back through it. My eyes fell on the spilled oil and broken glass. The vase had shattered when the lamp impacted it. White roses littered the floor soaking up water and oil which refused to mix. I swung my hand at the destruction and it rewound, putting all of its pieces back together. The vase returned to the dresser with the white roses in it, and the lamp zipped across the room returning to its position on the bedside table. It looked like the incident had never happened. Oil and water were separable; Gabriel and I weren't like oil and water—we would never be rid of each other; we would mold, melt and change the other. The pieces of our hearts were one whether we liked it or not. Fate twisted us together and destiny punished us.


	17. Gabriel's Favorite Room

The next few weeks at work were awkward for Gabriel and I. Mostly because neither of us would talk to the other. If I came into the cubicle he'd get up and leave, if I asked him a question he'd ignore me. It was a bittersweet situation. He wasn't treating me like a child or overprotecting me, but at the same time he wasn't talking to me at all. But maybe that's how it worked with Gabriel, you either were someone he protected or someone he hated; there was no in between.

At first it didn't bother me. I thought he was fair to ignore me and be mad, but after awhile his juvenile behavior of ignoring me got old. And I was the one who was childish in the relationship! Obviously, acting like a child was a characteristic we both had. I was angry that he would use it against me when he was just as guilty of it. Talk about being childish.

I very quickly got sick of Gabriel's behavior. I had given space to begin with just because I thought I had been out of line. But I suppose I was growing annoyed wit him. He wasn't giving me a chance to apologize, which wasn't fair.

When I arrived at work one morning in late November I saw Gabriel get onto the lifts as I was at the opposite end of the atrium. I didn't see anyone else getting on the elevator, so I hurried up and caught the elevator just as the doors were beginning to close. I looked up at Gabriel, who was standing alone in the elevator and he rolled his eyes as I flipped the switch so the elevator stopped moving. He was stuck with me.

"You can't avoid me forever," I said crossly at his ugly look.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"You don't have to talk," I responded. "I'll talk. You just need to listen."

"I don't want to listen to you either," he said scornfully.

I sighed and put my hands on my hips as I gave him a very nasty glare. "You're the one who is being childish now."

"You were a bitch—"

"I know," I snapped. "That's why I've been trying to talk to you for the last week. I wanted to say I'm sorry. What I said was inappropriate. But I still had a point."

Gabriel nodded. "Alright."

I flipped the switch on the elevator and cursed loudly. "You are such a bastard."

The elevator doors opened when we reached our floor and before I could turn to leave, Gabriel hit the switch to stop the doors from opening. There was a chime as the elevator doors locked and stopped moving.

"Cadence, an apology doesn't make it better," he said. "_I love you_. I love you with all that I am and you take me for granted. You always have. I've accepted that you don't want to be in a relationship. I get it. You're scared and you don't want to give Sirius the pleasure of being right despite the twelve years that he hasn't been in your life, and that he's a mass murderer. I love you so much that I'm willing to just be with you like this, like we are—a relationship, if you call it that, with out a title. But Cadence you can't treat me like you did that day. You can't hold things against me like that."

"You can't treat me like a child," I said sharply.

Gabriel frowned. "You're right," he confessed with a nod of his head. "You're right and I'm sorry. I just want you to be safe."

"I'm sorry too," I whispered with a nod. "You're right, I am scared and I don't want to give Sirius the joy of being right. I'm too proud."

"Don't you think you could give up some of that pride?" he whispered leaning forward and stroking my cheek. "Think of the pride we could have in each other."

I smiled and looked up at Gabriel with sad eyes. "I love you, but I can't Gabriel. I can't give up my pride and you can't ask me to change like that."

Gabriel nodded. "I probably wouldn't love you if you weren't this stubborn," he whispered and leaned his head down stealing a soft kiss from my lips. "You shouldn't let what Sirius thinks govern what you do now."

I frowned as his lips pressed against mine again. I knew he was right, which is why I kissed him in return as I wrapped my arms around him. He held me tight against him and pulled his head away, looking down and smiling at me with dark blue eyes.

"Can we fight more often?" he asked.

"No," I said shortly.

"I like kissing you though," he responded then bent his head down and kissed me again. "The more we fight the more we make up."

"Yes," I said smiling. "I wouldn't want to give you that pleasure."

Gabriel laughed. "Fair enough," he said as he leaned forward against me and flipped the switch to make the elevator move again. I stood on my toes and kissed him deeply one last time before the lift doors opened. I stepped back and fixed my cloak as he stood up straight and ran his hand through his hair. I was thankful that was over, thankful we had made up and could get back to our jobs. It was very difficult to work as an Auror when your partner refused to talk to you. Communication was kind of necessary.

We made our way out of the lift and towards our cubicle. Just as we arrived at our desk and sat down, Kingsley Shaklebolt entered the cubicle wearing a grim expression on his usually happy face.

"Hey Kingsley," I said with half a smile. When I saw his expression I frowned, however. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," he said softly. "I have to send you both on assignment."

"Where to?" Gabriel asked cautiously.

"Hogsmeade," Kingsley responded.

"Why?" I asked standing up from my desk chair. Hogsmeade was the village outside of Hogwarts. If Kingsley was sending us there it meant that Sirius had been spotted there.

"Since the break-in at Hogwarts," he said. "The Minister has decided to place Aurors in Hogsmeade. You are to secure the village and surrounding areas, and if Dumbledore feels that it is necessary, you will be security at Hogwarts."

"Really?" Gabriel said surprised. "They're that concerned with the safety of Hogwarts?"

"Black broke in on Halloween," Kingsley shrugged. "He either had help on the inside or the school isn't as secure as we thought to begin with. He got by the Dementors when he escaped Azkaban, he still knows how to get by them now."

"How long will we be in Hogsmeade?" I asked.

"Until Black is caught," Kingsley responded. He extended a crystal blue folder towards me. "Your orders. We're thinking that Black is probably hiding somewhere in or near Hogsmeade. He appears to be targeting Harry or your daughter, like we were afraid he would."

"But the guards at Azkaban said he muttered 'he's at Hogwarts'," said Gabriel taking the folder from me and looking through it. "Not, 'she's at Hogwarts'. Besides, she accused me of being Carrigan's father."

"Doesn't mean he wouldn't go after her," I said leaning against the cubicle wall. "If Carrigan is your daughter that means I cheated on Sirius with you—"

"If you cheated on me with another man I'd kill you not the kid born out of your betrayal," Gabriel shrugged turning back to his desk.

"Dumbledore expects to see you at Hogwarts tonight," Kingsley said. "You're expected to report in twice a week with me. Be safe you two."

"Thanks Kingsley," I said as he walked away. I looked at Gabriel and he gave me a bright smile as he held up the file folder of our orders. "Should we stay in one room or separate?"

I snatched the folder from him and gave him a nasty look. "I'm going to go home and pack some things. Meet me at my house when you're ready to head to Hogwarts?"

Gabriel nodded. "I have some paperwork to finish up here, then I'll be along."

"Alright," I said, then left the cubicle taking the blue file folder with me.

I returned to the house somewhat worried about what I had just been assigned to do. I didn't understand why it had taken so long to assign Aurors to Hogsmeade or Hogwarts. But the Minister trusted the Dementors to do their job—find Black and stop him from hurting people. I did not trust the Dementors. They were followers of my Father, and they would kiss me just as fast as they would Black.

I packed a trunk's worth of clothing because I wasn't sure how long Gabriel and I would be staying in Hogsmeade. I could always come home if I needed, but I'd rather not have to worry about coming home to get more clothes if we're there for the rest of the school year. I packed everything neatly and tightly. I didn't like to go anywhere unprepared and I loved my clothing. I never traveled lightly. Along with the clothes and shoes I had also packed a number of knives. The top of the trunk was lined to hold seven different knives, and a holster. Gabriel would be proud when he saw the small weaponry I had packed—or disappointed because his would no doubt be bigger.

By the time Gabriel had arrived I had packed a small over the shoulder backpack with a few books, quills and paper. I had also changed into traveling clothes, consisting of tight black pants, black leather pirate boots that went to my knees, a black peasant blouse, and a black corset vest. Gabriel took one look at me and smiled with charm.

"You look like you're going out," he said beaming as he came into the house. I punched his shoulder as he laughed. He motioned to the holster I was wearing on my thigh where a brilliant silver curved ten inch knife gleamed. "I meant to hunt."

"Uh huh," I said turning and going up the stairs to the bedroom as he placed a small bag next to the door. "I'm sure that's what you meant."

Gabriel closed the door tightly behind him and followed me upstairs. When he entered the bedroom I pulled my cloak on and walked out of the bedroom closet. As I approached the bedside table, he asked me where my travel bag was. I leaned over the table and blew out of the candle sitting on it. I picked up the bag off the bed and kicked my trunk.

"It's right there," I said.

Gabriel frowned as I went around the room turning off the oil lamps and blowing out candles. "You don't understand the concept of traveling light, do you?"

"No," I smiled. "Can you get my trunk?"

Gabriel frowned and moved forward, grabbing the trunk by its handles and carrying it out of the room.

"Why would you possibly need a trunks worth of clothes?"

"I don't want to have to come home to get anything," I shrugged as we descended the stairs. "And we don't know how long we're going to be in Hogsmeade."

"All you have to do is Apparate home," Gabriel said crossly as he put down my trunk in the foyer of the house. "Or, you could just conjure clothing."

I gave him a nasty look as I put my hands on my hips. "Or I could just pack the clothes I already have and take them with me." I grabbed his bag from next to the door and stood up straight, then opened the front door. I waited for Gabriel to pick up my trunk and go outside before following him out onto the porch. I locked the door tightly behind me and looked up at the house as I descended the steps to the front walk.

"It will be fine Cadence," Gabriel said.

"Oh, I'm sure it will," I nodded. "I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks?"

"Yep," Gabriel nodded. He Apparated before I could say another word, making me frown slightly. At least he had taken my trunk. I closed my eyes and Apparated, allowing the squished agonizing feeling to take over my body. I hated Apparation. It felt like you were being squeezed into a tiny tube, as you were spinning wildly through space. The act often made me want to vomit and I very rarely landed pleasantly.

There was a quiet feel to the village square when I appeared in Hogsmeade outside the Three Broomsticks. The cobblestone streets were deserted, and when I turned to see Gabriel standing outside the inn I saw why. He was looking at a wanted poster of Sirius Black, who was laughing like a mad-man in his mug-shot. Next to the wanted poster was a flyer detailing the precautions people should take in the village; one of them was a seven pm curfew.

"Do you think they're enforcing that curfew?" I asked looking around.

Gabriel shrugged. "I think we would have heard about it if they were. Come on, let's get a room and go speak with Dumbledore."

"Rooms, we need separate rooms," I said following Gabriel into the inn. Gabriel rolled his eyes and made his way across the pub to the counter. He smiled at the pretty woman with bouncing blonde curls, who looked very happy to see him.

"Gabriel!" Madame Rosmerta called as she waved to him. "Gabriel Quintin, I haven't seen you in ages." She stood up on a stool and leaned over the counter kissing Gabriel's cheek when he reached the counter. Some of the patrons looked at Gabriel with curious eyes. He had marched straight up to the counter in his long leather traveling cloak, with his knife holster plainly showing. He kissed Rosmerta's cheek in return and leaned against the counter.

"Hey Rosmerta," he said smiling. "I'm sorry it's been so long."

"Oh no you're not, Gabriel," Rosmerta laughed. "I know you better then that."

"Oh yea?" I said with raised eyebrows. "How well do you know, Gabriel?"

"Fairly well," Rosmerta said looking up at Gabriel with a glazed over gleam in her eyes. I sighed and rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed that it was so obvious that Rosmerta was one of Gabriel's previous conquests. Perhaps that is why I had never given into Gabriel, I didn't want to be another notch in his bedpost; and even knowing him for eighteen years could comfort that worry.

"Listen Rosmerta," Gabriel said. "Do you have my favorite room available? My partner and I need to stay here for a bit. We're the Ministry patrol while Black is on the loose."

"I can't believe you haven't caught him yet," Rosmerta said shaking her head as she moved to the end of the counter and opened a thick leather bond book. "Your room is available, Gabriel."

She reached under the counter and retrieved the key to the room. She came back towards us, swinging her hips as she walked, and handed Gabriel the key.

"I'm happy you're the Aurors the Minister sent down here," Rosmerta smiled.

I coughed to gain Rosmerta's attention because she was staring dreamy eyed at Gabriel again. "I'd like a separate room, please."

"I'm sorry," she said looking at me quickly. "There aren't any other rooms available. I only have six to begin with."

I frowned deeply. "Well isn't that just spectacular."

"I'll sleep on the floor Cadence, no worries," Gabriel said turning and picking up my trunk. "Thanks Rosmerta, you can bill the room to the Ministry. We're not sure how long we'll be here."

Rosmerta nodded her head. "Alright," she beamed.

I sighed and followed Gabriel back across the pub as he made his way for the staircase in the far corner of the building. We walked up the narrow stairwell slowly, Gabriel occasionally hitting the corners of my trunk against the dark wood walls. When we reached the second floor of the building Gabriel led the way to the end of the hall. He put down my trunk and opened the door with the key Rosmerta had given him. He bowed and motioned for me to enter the room.

"Welcome to our humble home," he said.

"Shut up," I said marching past him into the decently sized room. I was surprised to see how big it was considering the rather small size of the entire inn. There was a king size bed in one corner of the room, a fireplace across from it, a desk and chair in the opposite corner and then two doors in the forth corner. I threw the two bags I had carried onto the bed and went to the doors, opening one to find that it was a large closet and the other to a small bathroom with a toilet, sink and standing shower.

"This is your favorite room?" I questioned going to the window that was next to the bed and looking out at the Forbidden Forest and rolling hills behind the inn. Hogwarts castle stood tall in the moon lit distance.

"I like the view," Gabriel said putting my trunk in the closet. "Are you going to unpack or live out of your trunk?"

"Live out of my trunk," I whispered picking up my backpack and moving it to the desk. Gabriel picked up his bag and returned to the closet.

"My stuff is in the dresser," he said coming back to the bed. He sat down and looked around the bedroom.

"I hope we're not here too long," I said quietly as I looked back out the window.

"We've lived together many times before," Gabriel said with a shrug.

"It's not that," I looked at him over my shoulder. "I just want this all to be over."

Gabriel nodded as he looked at me. He stood up and came to me, rubbing my shoulders. "It will be."

"Sooner rather then later I hope," I said. I sighed and shrugged Gabriel's hands off my shoulders. Turning to him, I crossed my arms over my chest. "Shall we go see Dumbledore?"

"Yea," he nodded and moved away. I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep breathe. For this to work, sharing a room with Gabriel, I was going to have to breathe. I had to control my emotions and not melt every time he looked at me with those dark lusting eyes.

"So, you and Rosmerta?" I questioned as I followed him out into the hall. Gabriel smiled and closed the door behind me; he locked it and shook his head.

"I wondered how long you were going to wait before asking."

"Well, can you blame me? Obviously you two had something."

"We had something a few nights," he shrugged as we walked down the hall. "That's all."

"Ah," I said nodding. "I guess that doesn't surprise me."

"Yea," Gabriel smiled looking down at me. "She showed me why that's her favorite room." He pointed back towards our room and I grimaced. That was not something I needed to know. I slapped Gabriel's shoulder showing my annoyance with his dirty comment. Gabriel laughed and descended the stairs onto the pub floor.

We didn't talk about anything as we made our way out of the pub, across the village square and down the hill towards Hogwarts. As we entered the gates, Dementors loomed over us. Gabriel quickly lifted his wand and sent his patronus, a dove, racing through the air keeping the Dementors away from us. I watched as silvery-white smoke like dove sailed through the air. She sailed over our heads the entire walk up the gravel path to the castle. When we reached the well light entrance hall she disintegrated into vapor.

"A dove?" I whispered.

"Yes," Gabriel said with a shrug. "Always has been."

I nodded slowly as Gabriel tucked his wand into his cloak pocket. As we walked into the entrance hall a group of students was leaving the Great Hall. I noticed Carrigan among them immediately and couldn't help but smile. Her dark blue eyes met mine almost instantly and for a moment I saw her frown. I watched carefully as she broke from the group of peers, and her hand slipped out of a young man's hand. My stomach did a summer salt as my mind processed the small act of intimacy I had just seen. My daughter had been holding the hand of a boy!

"Mom!" Carrigan shouted sounding surprised. When she broke free from the group she let out a yell of happiness, and then shouted. "GABRIEL!"

Carrigan dashed across the entrance hall and straight into Gabriel's arms. He was ready for her; he caught her and spun her eleven year old body around easily, embracing her tightly. I stood back and smiled, as my stomach still tightened.

"Carri!" Gabriel said excitedly. He stopped spinning around and set her on the ground. He leaned down and kissed her forehead as he embraced her again, holding her tight to him like she were his own. My heart broke at the display of affection, but at the same time it brought a smile to my face.

"I've missed you so much!" I heard Carrigan murmur into Gabriel's chest as she clung to him.

"I know. I've missed you too," Gabriel said as he stepped back. He lifted her chin and looked into her blue eyes. "I hear you've been causing trouble."

"No too much," she insisted. I approached Gabriel and Carrigan slowly, not wanting to crowd their reunion. "Hi Mom," Carrigan said breaking free of Gabriel's arms and coming to me. She embraced me tightly as her friends approached us with curious eyes. They caught Carrigan's eye because she stepped back, beaming at them. "Hey guys, this is my Mom and my godfather, Gabriel."

"Hello," Gabriel said with a nod of his head.

"Hi," I said looking through the group of young people. My eyes fell on the tall dark haired boy who had been holding Carrigan's hand.

"That's Neal, Jordan, Jessica, Katy and Mona," Carrigan said. "They're second years. Mona is a Gryffindor, but the rest of them are Ravenclaws."

"I can see that," I said slowly. My eyes had fallen on Neal. The boy looked very nervous as he looked Gabriel and I over. He was intimidated by both of us—no doubt the holsters carrying knives was a little terrifying. I sighed as I looked at the boy; my heart sinking a little deeper into my body. I had thought I had two or so more years before I had to worry about Carrigan dating. Now I had to worry about a whole slew of things—dating, sex, self-respect, emotions—I just wasn't sure if I could handle that, never mind Carrigan being _eleven _and not able to handle it. For the few moments we stood in the entrance hall exchanging casual words with Carrigan's friends, the only thing I could think about was what I was going to do about Carrigan dating. What was I going to say to her and how could I say it in a way that didn't make it negative? My parenting skills seemed to be escaping me—I had never thought I'd be in this situation and now that I was…well my world was spinning.


	18. Take the Pain Away

"What are you doing here?" Carrigan asked once she had excused herself from her friends, who all made their way into the castle, heading for their common rooms. Neal had lingered for a few moments, saying good night to Carrigan and glancing at Gabriel nervously. Gabriel was looking at the boy with raised eyebrows as his hands rested on his hips, pushing his cloak back and only inches from his knife.

"We're staying in Hogsmeade," I said tucking Carrigan's hair behind her ear. "The Minister has assigned us to secure the area and protect Hogwarts."

Carrigan frowned and bit her bottom lip. "From Black?"

I nodded my head slowly. "Are you going to tell me more about Neal?"

Carrigan smiled and glanced at Gabriel. "Only if you both promise not to hurt him."

"Why would we do such a thing?" Gabriel questioned glancing at Carrigan, but then turning his head back to watch Neal disappear down the hall towards the Ravenclaw common room. "Is he your boyfriend?"

Carrigan sighed. "If by boyfriend you mean a friend who happens to be a boy, then yes, he's my boyfriend."

I smiled slightly and nodded my head as Carrigan gave Gabriel a sassy look. He came to her and took her shoulders to make sure she was listening to him.

"Carrigan, I was an immature teenage boy once," he said.

"Still are," I muttered. He gave me a nasty glare then looked back at Carrigan who was smiling, trying not to laugh.

"At this age the only thing boys think about is sex—"

"It's all the they think about at any age," I interjected.

"Cadence, please," Gabriel said standing up straight. "Carrigan, I'm serious. Boys are hormonal and horny. That's just how it is. We're designed different—"

"You are not," I sighed with annoyance. "Carrigan, if you want to have sex with him go for it. I think you're a little young, considering you haven't even developed yet, but hey, it's your body, your choice."

"Mom!" Carrigan said scandalized as she pulled away from Gabriel. "Why would I want to have sex? That's kind of gross."

I smiled in triumphant. My heart relaxed a little. Carrigan was still innocent.

"How old is he?" Gabriel asked. I smiled and shook my head, he appeared to be having a harder time with this then I was. Or maybe, he was just responding more like a parent.

"He's in my year," Carrigan said as we began to walk towards the grand staircase to make our way up to Dumbledore's office. "Gabriel, we were just holding hands. It's not like we were kissing." She stuck her tongue out at the mere thought of sharing saliva with a boy and I laughed.

"So he's twelve," Gabriel said.

"Yes," Carrigan sighed, a touch of annoyance on her tongue. "Why are you freaking out? Mom isn't even freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out," Gabriel said quickly. "I'm just worried, because I was a twelve year old boy once. I know what Neal is thinking about."

"Gabriel, please," Carrigan said. "I'm eleven. We were holding hands. He's a friend. I'm not dating him. You're really over reacting."

"Yea," I said wrapping my arm around Carrigan's shoulder. "Relax Gabriel."

Gabriel gave me a nasty look and I smiled at him.

"Gabriel, when'd you lose your virginity?" Carrigan asked. I bit my bottom lip. I had missed Carrigan's curious and blunt attitude. If she had a question she was going to come out and ask it. She wasn't going to beat around the bush and play games.

Gabriel hesitated before he answered. "I don't know if I should tell you that."

"Ha!" I laughed. "So you were young then?"

"I don't want to condone Carrigan having sex at an early age," Gabriel shrugged.

"Why?" I questioned. "What makes her decision to have sex any different then yours?"

"Well I'm a guy," Gabriel said. "It's easier for us to go around having sex—"

"Gabriel," I said very quickly. "Just because it's socially acceptable for guys to sleep around doesn't mean a girl can't."

"I just wouldn't want Carrigan to get a reputation," Gabriel said quickly. "I'm not saying it's right, but there is a sexual double standard in our society. If a girl gets around it's held against her, if a guy sleeps around it's not really held against him. I just don't want her to get a reputation."

"Guys," Carrigan said. "I'm standing right here, you know. And I'm not stupid. I'm not having sex. Why are we even having this conversation?"

"No better time to have it," I shrugged. "I think Gabriel's point Carrigan is that if you get around boys may want to have sex with you, but they won't want to be in a relationship with you."

"Again, I'm not having sex," Carrigan said coolly.

"I know," I said looking down at her. "And that's fine. When you do want to have sex all I ask is that you do it responsibly—"

"Mom!" Carrigan sighed with embarrassment. "I can't believe this is happening."

"And if you so desire to have sex with lots of different guys—"

"Mom!"

"Then I asked that you do that responsibly," I said ignoring her as held her face in embarrassment.

"I don't think you should sleep with anyone," Gabriel piped in. "Not until you're forty."

"Shut up," I snapped hitting him. "Don't listen to him Carrigan, he's just being over protective of you."

"Yes, I am," Gabriel smiled at her.

"Thanks," she sighed. "But I don't need it."

"Alright," Gabriel shrugged. "But that's not going to stop me."

Carrigan smiled at Gabriel and hugged him as we reached the seventh floor corridor. "I should get to my dormitory," she said motioning to go down the hall in the opposite direction as me and Gabriel.

"Good night, love," I said hugging her and kissing her forehead.

"Night Mom," she said embracing me tightly. "I'm happy you're here."

I smiled and nodded at her. "Me too."

"Good night Carri," Gabriel said kissing her cheek. Carrigan beamed at him.

"I'm happy you're here too," she said hugging him around the shoulders. Gabriel smiled and squeezed her small body in his arms.

"Sleep well," he said once he released her. Carrigan nodded and walked away from us towards the Gryffindor common room.

When Gabriel turned to look at me I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him a dark look. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a similar look, I could see the fatherly satisfaction in his eyes, along with a deep dark desire to pin me against the wall and rip my clothes off. I punched his shoulder quickly and he groaned, rubbing it as if I had actually hurt him.

"What was that for?" he questioned as I turned on my heel, heading for Dumbledore's office.

"For thinking about sex," I said. "Us having sex."

Gabriel laughed and caught up to me. "Can't help it."

"Well help it," I said crossly. Gabriel touched my shoulders and leaned in close to my ear.

"You just look sexy," he whispered. I pushed him away as he laughed.

"Well that's very flattering, but I wish you'd focus," I said giving him a sharp look. Gabriel stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest as we continued to walk.

"I agree with you," he said.

"About what?"

"Carrigan being sexually free if she wishes to be," he said. I looked up at him and nodded my head slowly.

"Thank you."

"I just wanted her to be aware that society won't be so accepting."

"Carrigan is a very strong self respecting young woman," I said. "I'm sure the decisions she will make concerning sex will be responsible and a reflection of her self respect."

"Aren't you worried at all?" Gabriel said with a tone of disbelief.

"Of course I am!" I snapped hitting his chest. Gabriel grabbed my hand when it hit him and stopped us in the corridor. I looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

"Do you think I responded inappropriately?" he asked.

I frowned slightly. "I think you responded like a father would."

Gabriel frowned and nodded.

"You're the closest thing she has to a father Gabriel," I shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

He nodded and released my hand, which he had been holding against his chest. As we walked down the corridor I broke the silence with a question that I had been burning in my head for awhile.

"When did you lose your virginity?"

"Fourteen," he said casually. I looked at him in shock and disbelief. There was no way; that seemed so young. Gabriel looked at me when I didn't say anything and smiled at the look of surprise on my face. "What? How old were you?"

"Uh," I sighed and ran my hands through my hair trying to remember the first time Sirius and I had sex. "Sixteen or seventeen."

"That's a bit young too, Cadence," Gabriel said still smiling.

"It's not thirteen!" I snapped.

"Fourteen, not thirteen," Gabriel corrected.

"Who with? Your nanny?"

Gabriel laughed. "No, I didn't have a nanny. A girl who lived up the street from us. She was sixteen…and I didn't look thirteen, nor did I act it. Like I said to Carrigan, I was a teenage boy once and the only thing we want is sex. We want it so bad that we'll lie to a girl two years older then us, saying we're her age."

I shook my head in disbelief. "So, you started out manipulating women. Someone didn't hurt you bad and made you into a womanizing pig."

"Nope, I'm pretty sure I was born that way," he said as we reached the hidden entrance to Dumbledore's office. The statue jumped out of our way, revealing the rotating staircase. "Then I met you."

"You're still a womanizing pig," I said as Gabriel shrugged, laughing at me again. He bowed and motioned for me to go up the stairs first. I did so and turned to face him so he couldn't stare at my ass. He stepped onto the step right below me so his body was centimeters from mine. Even when he stood a step below me he was still taller then me. His fingers hooked the belt loops of my pants, pulling my hips towards him slightly. Our hips pressed against each other and I felt a burning heat rise in my belly. I bit my bottom lip as he leaned close to me, tempting me with the heat of his body. His breath was hot on my neck, making my knees melt a little. If I hadn't been holding onto his cloak I probably would have fallen over.

"I don't think I'm a womanizing pig," he whispered as his fingers moved to stroke my cheek. I smiled slightly as I looked at his dark blue eyes. "I've loved one woman for almost fifteen years now."

I frowned and gave him a serious look. "How many women have you slept with since you fell in love?"

"Three," he whispered. "Three over the course of fifteen years puts a shame to my name. Please don't tell anyone that." I smiled and shook my head. "What about you?" This question made the frown reappear on my face as I looked Gabriel in the eye.

"I've only been with one man my entire life," I whispered. I turned away from him just as we arrived at the office door. I knocked and was granted immediate entrance. Gabriel followed me quietly into the circular office and closed the door tightly behind him.

"Good evening Professor," I said greeting Albus Dumbledore who was sitting behind his desk reading a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. He put the paper down and looked up at Gabriel and me with smiling crystal blue eyes.

"Hello," he said calmly. "I'm happy to see both of you were assigned to Hogwarts. Cornelius made it appear that he was going to keep you both in London."

"We're just following orders," Gabriel shrugged.

"Personally, I'd rather be in London," I said. "It means I wouldn't have to share a hotel room with Gabriel."

Dumbledore smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, of course. You two are the best though, and when it comes to Sirius Black I would like the best protecting Hogwarts. What happened a few weeks ago is unacceptable."

I nodded. "We still don't know what he is after?"

"No," Dumbledore said. "Anyone's guess is welcome. Obviously the options are Harry or Carrigan."

"Kingsley seems to think he's after Harry, not Carrigan," I said.

"I would agree with that," Gabriel said as he took a seat in an arm chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. "What do you wish us to do, Dumbledore, concerning the security of the grounds?"

"I think the grounds are relatively safe during the day," Dumbledore said as I also took a seat. Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Fawks, hopped off his perch to the arm of Dumbledore's chair wishing to be stroked. Dumbledore obliged, stroking the feathers on Fawks' back smoothly. The phoenix began to sing softly and peacefully. I smiled as Gabriel's eyes fell on me. "I would like you to patrol them as you see fit, specifically during the day when students are traveling between classes. I have forbidden anyone to go outside during free time unless it is supervised by a teacher. On weekends I would ask that you patrol the grounds and Hogsmeade if the students are visiting. The teachers and I will take responsibility for the castle, we'll all share the responsibilities of the grounds, and you'll be responsible for Hogsmeade. It is also my understanding that the Minister wants you to be looking for Black through all of this."

Gabriel nodded. "Any ideas on how he got into the castle?"

"This castle is hundreds of years old, Gabriel," Dumbledore said. "It is possible that there are secret tunnels and passages that not even I know about."

"There is no way just two of us could secure Hogsmeade and the grounds," I said.

"I don't expect you to," Dumbledore said. "I think Fudge put you here as reassurance to the parents and people that Hogwarts is being protected. If something goes wrong you'll be here to help make it right."

"I think the Minister is hoping our presents will keep Black at bay," Gabriel said. "If he knew you were in town he'd probably crawl back into a hole."

I sighed and glared at Gabriel. His words were so touching.

"You're a jerk," I said coldly. Gabriel grabbed his heart.

"Ouch, that hurt right here," he said with a laugh. I glared at him more and stood up, ready to leave. I wasn't sure if I really could live with Gabriel like this; not if he was going to act like a child about everything.

"Good evening, Dumbledore," I said. "We'll check in with you once a week."

Dumbledore stopped stroking Fawks and stood up to bid us good bye. Fawks stopped singing and looked at his master with a resentful expression.

"That will be fine," he said. "Please feel free to come to me anytime."

"Thank you," Gabriel said.

I walked out of the office, so annoyed with Gabriel's childlike behavior that I didn't even want to look at him. As I rode the staircase down to the main corridor I tried to relax. There was no point in getting worked up over Gabriel's behavior when we'd be staying in the same room for an undetermined amount of time.

Gabriel caught up to me as I marched down the corridor. "I think we should go over the grounds tonight before returning to the hotel."

I nodded my head slowly but didn't respond. "And maybe Hogsmeade?"

"What do you think we're looking for?"

"Uh, your ex?" Gabriel suggested.

I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore his comment. I quickly made my way down the hall to the moving staircases. I timed it perfectly so that I stepped onto the staircase and it moved before Gabriel could get on it.

"Cadence!" he called after me. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, but I didn't look back.

Because we got separated on the moving stairs I was able to walk the rest of the way down to the entrance hall alone and in silence, which was what I needed. I knew that Gabriel didn't mean anything by what he said but it still got to me. I knew we were looking for Sirius Black, but he didn't have to rub it in my face the way he had. I knew very well that Sirius Black was my ex and I didn't need Gabriel Quintin of all people to remind me. He caught up to me in the hall as I waited by the oak doors for him. When he reached my side he gave me a questioning look, with raised eyebrows, and arms crossed over his chest.

"What was that about?"

"I just need some space," I whispered. "This whole situation is hard enough as it is, Gabriel. The last thing I need is you reminded me of facts that I already know. I'm not going to go out hunting tonight. I'm going back to the hotel to go to sleep. Please don't come back until I'm asleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

I turned and left the hall, exiting Hogwarts castle and heading down the gravel path towards the front gate. Gabriel respected my wishes and stayed back. As I passed through the gate, heading into Hogsmeade, I looked back to see him walking across the grounds towards the Forbidden Forest. I felt a little bad for what I had said, but at the same time I needed to be alone.

Every time I thought I was okay with what was going on in my life, it always came back to haunt me. It was as if life was teasing me, not letting me get comfortable or stable. I tried everyday to pretend that Sirius and I didn't have a past, but everyday I was reminded in some way how we used to be important to each other. The past just hurt too much. Everyday at work I was reminded of the betrayal Sirius committed and my bad taste in men. Yes, I wanted to catch the bastard because he was responsible for my best friends' deaths, but at the same time I wanted to forget that he was responsible. I wanted to forget that he was the father of my child. I wanted to forget _him._

As I lay in the bed in Gabriel's favorite room of the hotel, I kept thinking about why Sirius was trying to get into Hogwarts; why was he trying to get into Gryffindor Tower? This was very puzzling to me. There were two possibilities: either he was after Harry or he was after Carrigan. But why would he be after either of them? Did he just want to kill Harry to finish off what he had started? Did he really think Carrigan was his daughter and wanted to take her away? Or did he believe that Carrigan was Gabriel's daughter and wanted to kill her to get revenge on me?

There were too many questions and too many possibilities. The simplest solution would be to catch Sirius, but I was starting to think that was impossible. He had broken out of Azkaban nearly five months ago; if he hadn't been caught by this point he probably wasn't going to be. Sirius was a good wizard—he would have made an excellent Auror—that plus his knowledge of Azkaban, Dementors and dark magic he'd be nearly impossible to catch. I had to think of some way to catch him…

The hotel room door opened and I sat up slightly as Gabriel came in. He took of his cloak once he quietly shut the door and threw it on the chair by the small desk. He glanced at me, recognizing that I was awake, and then disappeared into the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on and I frowned slightly. I laid back on the sheets and stared blankly at the ceiling still thinking about how to catch Sirius. Gabriel had caught him twelve years ago by predicting his moves. Gabriel knew that after Sirius blew up half a Muggle street he'd try to make a run for it; so he went straight to Remus Lupin's house where Sirius had been staying because he had left me. Sure enough, Sirius was there, throwing his belongings into a bag. Gabriel arrested him and brought him to Azkaban. Gabriel had never told me if they fought or not; he only told me that Sirius kept insisting he was innocent…He was still insisting he was innocent…

"Cadence?" said Gabriel's voice.

I blinked and sat up on my elbows, looking at Gabriel who was standing at the foot of the bed in his boxers and flannel pants. I couldn't help but smile at his appearance. His washboard abs disappeared under the waistband of his boxers, which were riding low enough to see his hip bones and the creases that directed the eye towards his groin. His chest and shoulder muscles were flexed as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His skin was still moist from his shower, and the moonlight that shined in the bedroom window reflected off the moisture making his skin look glossy. His dark brown hair was damp and fell in front of his now emerald green eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He walked to the side of the bed and sat down next to me. "I don't mean to make light of this situation. I know that it is very painful for you. Everyday you try to escape your past, but it always comes back to haunt you."

I nodded my head slowly. "I didn't mean to snap at you. Gabriel, I hurt everyday because of what Sirius is now. And it hurts even more when I see Carrigan, which makes me feel like a horrible Mother. I just wish…I want this over with. I want the pain to stop."

Gabriel touched my cheeks and gave me a reassuring smile. "You're not a horrible Mother. You do your best with the situation you're in. Don't let Sirius take anything away from you now." Gabriel leaned in and kissed my lips delicately. I didn't even realize it, but I was crying. He sat back and wiped the tears from my cheeks. "I can take your pain away," he whispered with charming confidence before kissing me again.


	19. A Day With Carrigan

The first Saturday that Gabriel and I were in Hogsmeade I asked Dumbledore if it'd be alright to take Carrigan out for the day, if she didn't have too much homework. Dumbledore agreed and Carrigan was more then thrilled to get out of the castle and off the grounds. She like the other students had been growing restless being locked up in the castle since Halloween.

"Are you excited for the Quidditch match next weekend?" I asked as we walked through Hogsmeade looking at the different shops. Both of us were bundled tightly in winter cloaks, scarves and gloves. Carrigan had a hat on to cover her ears also, it was knitted from rainbow yarn; something she had made herself.

"I suppose," Carrigan shrugged as she stopped in front of a shop that had dresses and tops on manikins in the front window. "I've never really cared for the sport, but don't tell anyone. It's sac-religious here to not like Quidditch."

I laughed lightly and touched her shoulders, pushing her along to the next shop. "Yes, I know that. I learned that the hard way. I didn't know how to even fly a broom when I arrived here. James and your Father had to show me."

Carrigan frowned when I mentioned Sirius Black. I did also as pain grew in my stomach. Sometimes, it was so easy to forget what he was; as if he was still the good man I had spent nearly six years loving.

"Mom, Dad wasn't always a Death Eater was he?"

I rubbed my temples as I looked at the damp cobblestone in the square. "I'm not sure, Carrigan. I like to think that he wasn't…that for sometime what he and I shared was real, and that he was good. In my head I've developed the story that something changed. He was good, we were in love, and something changed him. It's like my Father tricked him to joining his side. Once you join Voldemort you don't come back, not easily. At the time of the Potter's death, your Father's betrayal, there was a lot going on with him and I."

Carrigan looked at me with curious eyes as we pasted by the post office. Hundreds of owls sat on the roof of the old white building, as others flew off towards the distant trees to find dinner.

"Mom, you don't blame yourself, do you?"

I didn't answer her right away.

"Sometimes," I whispered honestly with a nod.

"But why?" Carrigan asked confused. "Even if Dad left you because you didn't want to marry him, he made the decision to join Granddad and kill people. That's not on you and you're not being fair on yourself if you take responsibility for it."

I smiled at Carrigan as she looked up at me with worried midnight blue eyes. "Thank you," I whispered. "I thought I was the supposed to be the one who provides you with good advice and constant words of wisdom."

"We can share it," Carrigan shrugged with a smile as I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She hugged me around the waist and clung to me as we walked back across the square towards the Three Broomsticks.

"Speaking of words of wisdom," I said slowly. "How has school been, do you need any advice on people harassing you?"

"Not really," she whispered. "People seem to have gotten over that I'm your daughter. They're more worried about Quidditch now. The Slytherins still give me crap; Divinity Jasper and her stupid friends…oh and Draco Malfoy who's a tool."

"Carrigan," I said with surprise. She looked at me and shrugged innocently.

"Well he is," she responded. "Him and Harry do not get along at all…If Voldemort wasn't Harry's arch enemy, Malfoy would be. He's a dirty bug."

"What started you and Divinity's feud?"

"I had heard rumors that she was powerful," Carrigan said as we took a seat in a booth at the Three Broomsticks. I ordered some butterbeers, potato soup and chicken sandwiches for us. "So, when I saw that we had potions with Slytherin, I thought I'd try to be friends with her. That didn't go over well. She looked at me with her mismatching eyes and seemed to know me. Which freaked me out a bit. She knew my name before I even said anything, told me that I shouldn't be ashamed of who my Father and Grandfather were, and then told me," Carrigan stopped and looked at the potato soup that had just been placed in front of her. I raised my eyebrows.

"Carrigan?"

"She told me you tried to kill her and her Father once," she whispered very quietly.

This caused me to frown. It was half true, but a much more complicated story then I'm sure Divinity cared to tell Carrigan. I was pleased to see that Divinity had lied—that meant that Gabriel and Dumbledore were a little wrong; she wasn't beyond good and evil. She was making choices just like any other human being. She was choosing to be evil which meant we could alter her opinion with some persuasion.

"Well I did try to kill her Father," I said. "But in my defense, he kept me tied to a chair locked in his basement and tortured me about a week."

Carrigan's eyes were wide in shock as she at her soup. I felt bad telling her the details, she was so young and innocent, she didn't need to know everything, but at the same time I felt she did deserve to know everything. I wasn't going to hide what this world was from her. I believe she needed to grow up prepared.

"What?" Carrigan stammered. "You were kidnapped?"

I laughed. "Carrigan, I've been kidnapped or held hostage too many times to count."

"How did you escape?"

"Different every time," I shrugged.

"Usually I came and saved her," Gabriel said sliding into the booth next to Carrigan.

"Hi Gabriel," Carrigan said. "He didn't really save you all the time, did he Mom?"

"He's usually the reason I got kidnapped," I said looking at Gabriel with a cold stare.

"I insist it's your frosty demeanor," Gabriel said taking half of Carrigan's sandwich and eating it.

"Hey!" Carrigan said.

"If I'm so frosty, why'd you come and save me?"

"Maybe I regret it everyday," Gabriel retorted. I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed.

"Wow, can you guys please just have sex and get it over with," Carrigan said. I looked at her flabbergasted. "I'm just saying...new topic! So why'd you try to kill Divinity and her Father?"

"I didn't try to kill Divinity, I was trying to save her," I said excepting the change in subject. "I was trying to save her when I got caught by," I stopped and looked at Gabriel who was frowning deeply. "Marcus Jasper, so he detained me in his basement."

Gabriel had a sad expression on his face. He was the one who had caught me. He had pretended to betray me. We fought, beat the shit out of each other and he won to make the Jaspers and my Father trust him. I didn't trust him for a long time after that. How could I?

"Why were you trying to save Divinity?" Carrigan asked curiously. I could see in her eyes that she was truly puzzled by this notion. Why would I try to save a bratty little girl who loved Dark Magic?

I sighed and looked at Gabriel who was looking at me with careful eyes.

_Be careful_, he said to me with Legilimency. I glared at him and looked back to Carrigan.

"I had a half brother, Carrigan," I said slowly. "His name was Braven Drake and he was a Seer. He had a daughter named Haiden and when she was two she was kidnapped and shortly after Braven died. Divinity Jasper is Haiden Drake, my half niece, your half cousin."

Carrigan stared at me for a few moments with a puzzled look on her face. She didn't believe me. She was silent because she was waiting for me to say "Just kidding!" But I didn't, because I wasn't.

"You mean," Carrigan swallowed and looked down at her food. "You mean that wretch is my cousin?"

"Yes," I said. "But she's not Haiden anymore. She's been completely consumed by her new persona Divinity. Haiden is lost."

"What do you mean her new persona?" Carrigan asked confused.

"Divinity is a very powerful witch," Gabriel said. "She's a Seer like her Father, and her Mother was a mythical goddess. She is mostly magic, very little of her is human. While she was growing up Voldemort experimented on her—"

"But he's been dead for thirteen years and she's a year older then me," Carrigan interrupted. "She was born the year Harry defeated him."

I frowned deeply and looked at Gabriel.

"She's eighteen," whispered Gabriel. "She's ageless. Voldemort was trying to find a way that he could live forever by putting aging charms and spells on Divinity."

"Are you saying that Divinity is the reincarnate of Voldemort?"

"No," I said quickly to Carrigan's extreme idea. "No. We're saying that Divinity is not a normal little girl. She is special, magical, and lost."

"Are you still trying to save her?"

"I'm afraid we can't—" Gabriel started, but I interrupted him.

"We just don't know how to," I said to Carrigan with reassuring eyes.

"Carrigan, you have to keep this to yourself," Gabriel said giving me a serious look, as if I told her too much. "We don't know how much Divinity knows of her own history. For all we know she's been abused so much that her mind has been erased of her past…of her knowledge that she had thirteen years ago. In her mind, she is just a twelve year old girl who doesn't know her full potential."

"I don't know," Carrigan whispered. "Gabriel, she knew who I was. And she told me I shouldn't be ashamed of my Grandfather or my Father. She knows things…"

"That's her gift of Sight," Gabriel said. "She may not know how to use it well anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"For a short time I was Divinity's teacher," said Gabriel. "She was a magnificent student, but she…was lost."

Carrigan frowned and nodded her head. "You taught her because you're a Guardian right?"

I smiled at Carrigan who knew her mythology rather well. Guardians were mythical keepers who guided witches and wizards with extraordinary magical powers. Usually, Guardians had two to three students in their lifetime: I was Gabriel's first student, his daughter Jennifer was to be his second but she was killed because Gabriel and I fell in love, which was forbidden, and Divinity was Gabriel's third student. Gabriel and I had been worried that Carrigan was meant to be Gabriel's next student, because technically he never taught Jennifer. We were both afraid of what might happen if she was his student. Would there be punishment for that? Would Carrigan be in danger if she was Gabriel's student because of the "unnatural" relationship they shared?

"Yes," he whispered. "I've only had one successful student." He smiled at me and I couldn't help but grin.

"But you two broke the rules," Carrigan said quickly. "You fell in love. Maybe that's why you haven't had any other successful students Gabriel. Fate is punishing you for loving Mom."

"Thank you," I said giving Carrigan a harsh look. "For your bluntness."

She smiled as her cheeks flushed and shrugged. "Don't you think I could be your student?"

"I don't know Carri," Gabriel said. "I think our father-daughter like relationship counts as 'unnatural'."

Carrigan frowned. "That's stupid."

"We'll see," Gabriel said wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into his side. "If you're meant to be my student it will happen."

"Right," she nodded.

"Are you done eating?" I asked.

"Yea," Carrigan nodded. "Because Gabriel ate my entire sandwich!"

"You weren't eating it!" Gabriel responded. I laughed as I stood up from the booth.

"Come on, Carrigan," I said. "I'll walk you back to school and Gabriel will pay the tab."

Gabriel stood up and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me against him. I sighed with some shock and discomfort until I felt his strong muscles pressed against me. The look in his eyes was of pure love, making my heart melt.

"That's not fair," he said softly with a smile.

"It's not fair you ate my sandwich," Carrigan said. "Karma's a bit—"

She stopped speaking when I gave her a sharp look. "Witch…karma's a witch…"

"Yea," I nodded. "It is isn't it?"

Carrigan and I laughed as I pulled out of Gabriel's arms. His fingers lingered on me, and hand held mine tight as I walked away. I looked at him with some confusion as he held onto my hand. Carrigan was practically out the door of the Three Broomsticks as Gabriel held onto me. He pulled me to him and stole a kiss from my lips.

"I love you," he whispered.

I smiled at him. "I know."

I pulled out of his arms, squeezing his hand as I walked away from him. Carrigan was waiting for me outside.

"What was that about?"

"He was just reminding me that I'm a horrible woman and I take him for granted."

Carrigan looked at me confused. I shook my head and pushed her forehead down the cobblestone street. "Don't worry about it."

"Hey, Mom, can we stop by to see Hector?" she asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "Of course. Do you see him often?"

"Not since we've been restricted to the school," she sighed. "But since you're here now, I can come see him more right?"

"Maybe," I said. "I'm here working, Carrigan. I can't make promises that I see you all the time."

"Right, I know," she said. "But at least you'd be here. You don't have to be with me when I go see Hector."

Carrigan and I walked across the grassy cold grounds heading for Hagrid's hut. We could see him outside in his large fur jacket in the pumpkin patch. When we got closer to the hut I could see a large animal standing in the pumpkin patch next to Hagrid.

"Is that a hippogriff?" I questioned in surprise.

"Yea," Carrigan said. "On the first day of class when the third years were down here learning about the hippogriff it attacked Draco Malfoy because he didn't bow before approaching it."

"Sounds like he deserved it," I responded.

"He did," Carrigan nodded. "But his Father is making a big case about it. They're taking Hagrid and Buckbeak to trial."

I frowned. "That's too bad."

"Yea, especially because Hector and Buckbeak get along so well."

There was a loud cawing sound as we approached the hut and then a large lion sized griffin came plowing around the corner of the hut. Carrigan dashed off away from me.

"Hector!" she bellowed. She jumped onto the griffin's back as he bounded around the grass. He sailed up into the air, flying over the grounds, doing loops and flips. I bit my bottom lip and put my hand to my throat with a nervous sigh.

"She's fine," said a voice. I turned and smiled at Remus Lupin who had approached me in a worn cloak and red knit scarf. His hands were deep in his pockets and he looked thin and pale. I embraced him warmly and rubbed his arms.

"Hello Remus," I said. "How are you?"

"Just getting over a cold," he said with a shrug. What Remus meant by "a cold" was that he was recovering from the full moon that had occurred earlier that week. I smiled and rubbed Remus' arm.

"Hector just misses her," Remus said motion to Hector and Carrigan who were now cuddling on the grassy hill.

"I don't like him flipping over like that," I said shaking my head.

"I don't think you have much control over that," Remus said with a soft laugh.

"No," I frowned. "I guess not."

"How are you doing?" Remus asked touching my elbow. I looked back at him with a forced smile.

"I'm doing alright," I said with lying eyes.

"Despite everything that has happened in the last couple of weeks, and being sent here for work?"

"I'm closer to Carrigan now," I shrugged looking back at my daughter who was happily playing with her pet griffin now. I couldn't believe how bid Hector had gotten. He was nearly full grown, in only a matter of two months. I bit my bottom lip as I prayed that he wouldn't get larger. I looked at Remus with the same fake smile as before. "That's the most important thing, especially if Sirius is around like the Ministry thinks."

Remus nodded and bit his bottom lip. I studied him closely, reaching out and touching his arm to get his attention. He was avoiding eye contact with me, which concerned me. Had Gabriel been right when he suggested that Remus be checked for helping Sirius into the castle?

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I just find it hard to believe that he betrayed us," Remus said shaking his head. "I've been thinking about all of it since you came to see me over the summer, Cadence. Too many things just don't add up."

"I know," I whispered nodding my head. "But what are we supposed to do Remus? We only know the evidence that has been provided for us. What else is there to know? And it's only Sirius' word, what good is that?" We both looked out at Carrigan who was still wrestling with Hector. "I've lived for twelve years thinking he was a liar and betrayer, and now I'm supposed to change that because _he_ says he isn't? No…that's not how it works." I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face and into my hair. "The truth is part of me wasn't surprised when it happened. Sirius and I had fallen to pieces and it didn't make sense to me at all. When he went off and joined my Father, killed the Potters," I paused and shook my head. "It just made things make sense."

Remus frowned and nodded his head. "It still hurts."

"Every damn day," I whispered agreeing.


	20. Moving On

The next weekend the weather was atrocious, rain and nasty winds kept the sky dark and gloomy. Gabriel and I had to make our way up to the school on Friday to speak with Dumbledore about the Quidditch game planned for Saturday afternoon. Gabriel was concerned that the game might be an opportunity for Black to attack Harry or Carrigan. He wanted to discuss with Dumbledore how we could secure the Quidditch stadium. I wasn't so worried about it. I didn't think that Sirius would attack in broad day light in the middle of a school event. Gabriel reminded me however, that he killed Peter Pettigrew and a street full of Muggles in broad daylight.

"I'm really not looking forward to going out in that rain," Gabriel said motioning to the window where a violent rain storm was pleating down against the window pain. I looked at him from the bathroom door where I stood in my tee shirt and underwear. Gabriel looked at me with raised eyebrows as he looked me up and down. I caught his eyes lingering on my legs and I gave him a dirty look, making him smile.

"What?" he questioned walking to me. He also was only half dressed in blue jeans and his boxers. I kept my eyes on his face, glaring at him nastily as he approached so that I wouldn't stare at his handsome muscular abs that disappeared under his waist band. "I've never seen a woman look so sexy as she brushed her teeth."

I glared at him even more harshly, if that was possible and turned away going into the bathroom. I bent over the sink and spit out the toothpaste; I rinsed my mouth and wiped my lips on a towel. When I turned around Gabriel was leaning in the doorway of the bathroom, his arms high on the door frame over his head, flattering ever muscle on his body. I bit my bottom lip as I put my arms behind my back and leaned against the sink. I crossed my ankles and looked down at the ground, wondering how I could possibly resist Gabriel.

"Are you going to wear that white tee shirt all day?" he asked.

"Are you going to stay half naked all day?" I responded.

"If you want me to," he said coming into the bathroom as he put his hands in his pockets. I stood up straight as he approached me and crossed my arms over my chest, becoming somewhat defensive.

"That's not what I said," I said lifting my hands against his chest to stop him from approaching me.

"You don't want me to stay half naked all day?" he asked with a playful frown.

"Nope," I said cruelly, but with a small smile to let him know I was coy. "Nor am I going to stay in this white tee shirt…not with it raining like mad outside."

"Probably a wise choice," he nodded reaching up and stroking my hair. I bit my bottom lip and ducked away, moving around him and exiting the bathroom. I made my way to the closet where I knelt down and began to pull clothes out of my trunk.

Thankfully, Gabriel remained in the bathroom for the next few minutes, brushing his teeth, and I was able to change quickly without him seeing me. When he emerged from the bathroom I was in tight blue jeans, black combat boots, a long sleeve white button up blouse, and a black corset vest over top of it. I was pulling on my cloak when he moved to the closet to find his own clothing. He put on a black button up and match vest. I couldn't help but stare at him as he buttoned up the shirt and hid his amazing body from sight. Even dressed, Gabriel still looked phenomenon, especially for a forty four year old. Age didn't seem to have an effect on Gabriel, the only difference I could find on him now compared to fifteen years ago when I first met him was the very slight streaks of gray that were appearing behind his ears. Really, the salt and pepper hair was only noticeable if you were up close to him; otherwise I thought Gabriel looked like he was in his early thirties…he could give me a run for my money. Perhaps I kept him young, being that I was ten years younger then him.

"You ready?" he asked pulling on a cloak with a hood. He buttoned it up as I pulled my hood on and nodded.

"I've been waiting on you, haven't I?"

"Alright, smart-ass, let's go," he said opening the door and motioning for me to exit the hotel room first.

The journey up to Hogwarts Castle was not a pleasant one. I kept my cloak pulled tightly closed around me, with my hood up, trying to protect my face from the rain but it was really no good. The wind was so strong it blew my hood off continuously, which allowed my face to be pleated with rain that stung and hurt when it hit the skin. By the time we reached the castle both Gabriel and I were soaked to our bones with cold. We had arrived at the castle right at lunch time, which made me frown, we had been hoping to arrive early so we would have time to go out and inspect the Quidditch pitch. As Gabriel closed the giant oak doors behind us, I looked back out at the thundering rain. Perhaps it was better that we didn't inspect the pitch today; I did not want to go back out in that weather.

I turned away from the doors as Gabriel and I made our way into the entrance hall, towards the grand staircase that would lead up into the depths of the castle. Students were milling about in and out of the great hall where lunch was beginning. My eyes didn't find Carrigan in the mess of kids anywhere, which was fine. I didn't want to smoother her since I was around Hogwarts all the time now. I still wanted to give her space so she felt like the other kids whose parents were far away, leaving them be. I did see Harry Potter and his two friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger however. They were walking into the Great Hall discussing something quickly. Harry looked rather distressed and when I extended my mind to his I found that he was worried about the Quidditch game tomorrow. Apparently Gryffindor was now playing Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin because Draco Malfoy was claiming to be too injured to play.

As Gabriel and I mounted the grand staircase leading up into the depths of the school I felt someone's eyes on me. I paused on the steps and turned, looking over my shoulder, into the crowd of teenagers. The familiar mismatch stare of Divinity Jasper caught my attention instantly. I hadn't seen her in years but I knew it was her because of her eyes—one was light blue and the other vibrant green, like her Father Braven's. She was staring straight at me with a look of recognition in her surprisingly young face.

"She's not looking at you," Gabriel said quickly to me as he took my arm. I looked up at Gabriel's eyes and frowned, remembering that years ago he was Divinity's guardian, just like he had been mine. Gabriel had stopped teaching her for many reasons, one being that she had grown an unnatural attraction to him, which could have been catastrophic to their relationship and Gabriel's destiny. He had also realized that she was lost to Dark Magic too much for him to teach her. At her young age of eight she had become arrogant and thought she could master her skills without his help because she was more powerful then him.

"Do you think she remembers you?" I asked.

"Probably only as a dream," Gabriel responded.

"Gabriel," said a voice behind us. We both turned at the top of the stairs and stared down at Divinity Jasper who was looking at us with very curious eyes. She was a very attractive young woman, despite her mismatched eyes and half blonde half brown hair. It was pin straight and neat looking. As if fixing up to make everything perfect about her appearance would distract from the mismatching pigment of her eyes and hair. "Your name is Gabriel Quintin."

"Yes, Miss, it is," Gabriel said with a bow of his head.

She looked at him with a dark stare, studying him, as if she were trying to remember how she knew him. Her eyes turned to me abruptly and looked me over.

"Cadence Coleman," she whispered with a nod of her head. She closed her eyes for a moment and her head rolled gently over her right shoulder, onto her chest, and then over her left shoulder. She stood up straight and sighed as she opened her eyes. "I've never remembered Gabriel being there before."

"Being where?" Gabriel asked stepping down a stair to stand closer to her. Divinity flashed her eyes at him and he paused in his approach.

"That night she tried to kill me," Divinity said honestly. I made to speak, but she looked at me with a glare so dark I thought she might suck the life right out of me. Never, had I experienced such a look—not even from my Father. Once she had glared me into silence, she focused her attention back on Gabriel. When she looked at him her eyes relaxed. "I don't remember you being there…but now…it's like you're rewriting my memory." Her head tilted to the side as she looked him over. "I don't know how I know you, but I do…"

"Hey, Divinity!" Someone yelled up the steps. I looked past Divinity to see a boy in Slytherin robes waiting at the bottom of the steps for her. She looked down at him, half in a daze.

"Don't try to remember, Divinity," Gabriel said quickly taking her hand. He squeezed it tightly. "Don't ask anyone about me. It will come with time."

Divinity glared at Gabriel sharply, obviously not very pleased with his words. Before she could say another word he spoke again. "You know who I am deep down inside of you. If you say anything, or search for those feelings your parents will not be happy with you. Do you understand me?"

"Divinity, you coming to lunch or what?" the boy yelled up the stairs.

She looked down at him and Gabriel squeezed her hand again.

"Divinity?"

"I understand," she said softly as she looked at his eyes. "I understand." She looked almost fearful as she repeated the words. I frowned deeply as Gabriel released her and she dashed down the steps away from us.

"What the hell was that?" I questioned. Gabriel looked rather shaken as he turned and made his way back up the stairs.

"Let's not talk about it here," he whispered looking over his shoulder. I touched his arm and he looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"You just look shaken," I said. He nodded and took my hand, squeezing it gently.

Dumbledore was waiting for us, and when he arrived he sensed that something was bothering Gabriel. I took a seat and rubbed my hand through my hair as Gabriel paced back in forth. I didn't really understand what was going on, and I had learned that when dealing with Divinity Jasper it was usually complicated.

"What's the matter, Gabriel?" Dumbledore asked standing up. He made a pot of tea appear and then looked at Gabriel again, who was leaning against the mantel. Dumbledore frowned and bottle of whiskey appeared on the desk next to the tea. I smiled slightly and leaned forward, pouring three glasses of whiskey. I stood up and took one to Gabriel, who thanked me and gulped it down.

"Divinity?" Dumbledore asked as I came back to the desk. I nodded.

"I've never seen him respond like that."

"They erased me from her memory," said Gabriel turning to us.

"They altered it," I nodded. "She remembers me trying to kill her; not that I was trying to kill Marcus Jasper and she jumped in between us."

"I told you that Voldemort has been experimenting on her," whispered Dumbledore sadly.

"She seems crazy," I said quickly. "When she saw us, it was like we were speaking to two different people."

"No," Gabriel shook his head. "She's just trying to remember. Now she will have visions to figure out who I am. If she says anything about them when she goes home for holiday she'll come back with her mind altered again."

"That has to be damaging her," I said.

"I'm sure it is," Dumbledore said. "But Divinity is not your average witch, let alone human being. Her mind can handle what is being done to it."

"That doesn't make it right, Professor," I snapped annoyed. Gabriel gave me a stern look, because this was something we had discussed many times over the years. I rolled my eyes and sat back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. As I sat in silence I vowed that I wasn't going to give up on Divinity. Sooner or later she would realize what was happening to her—she would feel betrayed by her fake family and Voldemort. She would want to run.

"I was worried that my presents may trigger her memories," said Gabriel ignoring my outburst.

"There isn't much we can do to prevent that," Dumbledore shrugged. "Perhaps the triggers are a good thing. Perhaps they will allow Divinity to return to our side, as Miss Coleman hopes."

I bit my bottom lip as the walls of the room vibrated softly, creating a low hum. I felt like Dumbledore was mocking my hopes. "Cadence," he said very softly to remind me of my mental powers. I stood up and fixed my cloak.

"I'm going to inspect the pitch to make sure there isn't a way for Black to get onto it tomorrow," I said. "I'm assuming you'll want the Dementors away from the pitch?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said with a nod as he sat down.

Gabriel had stopped pacing and was standing tall with his arms crossed over his chest. I wasn't happy with either of the men, as a result I wanted to get out of the office and find something else to do. I'd rather inspect the pitch in the freezing rain that stand here and argue with the two men who dominated my life. I was sick of it. As these thoughts raced through my head the room began to shake more steadily, no longer at a low humming vibrator, but a harsher shake which was causing picture frames to fall off the wall. I turned, before either man could lecture me and walked out of the office. As I walked down the corridors they shook, causing stray students that were wandering the halls to jump out of my way.

It was still pouring rain outside. I pulled my cloak tightly around me and made my way across the grounds to the Quidditch pitch. I hadn't been in those stands in years; even as a student I didn't go to many Quidditch games. Like my daughter, I found the game to be rather boring. In the stands, under the thin roof, I felt at peace. Despite the wind, the vicious pleating rain, peace came to mind. I sat down in the stands and looked around the field. There was no way of securing the stadium. There were too many entrances, rows of seats, and tarps hiding various places to cower. I didn't think that Sirius would make a scene coming to a Quidditch game, but maybe I was wrong. I obviously didn't know the bastard very well—otherwise I never would have had sex with him.

I frowned and shook my head. Why was it that men always seemed to control my life somehow? Between Gabriel, Dumbledore, my Father, and Sirius it was amazing that I still had faith in the male half of the human species. There were too many factors in my life that allowed for me to not be in control. I sighed and wiped the rain off my face, unsure of what I was feeling.

"I didn't think I'd find you here," said a familiar voice from my past. I frowned. What were the chances of meeting Sirius Black in the Quidditch stands when I was supposed to be making sure he couldn't get into them? I didn't turn around to look at him, I just looked forward, glaring at the grey messy sky before me. "What's on your mind?"

"You took away my faith in good people, in good men," I whispered crossly keeping my eyes locked on the turning clouds and pouring rain. "I lost faith in you, and I don't know how to get my faith back…in anyone."

"I know," he said. "I could see how broken you were that day…and it broke me to see it because I thought we were stronger then that. I thought our love was stronger."

It was my turn to be silent. I had nothing to say to him. All these years I had wanted to say so much to him because I was trapped with my rage and his betrayal. How could he say that he knew how broken I was the last day we saw each other? The day he left me; he destroyed me. Of course I would be broken.

"I look at you now and see that you're still broken," he said. "Not even Gabriel could fix the void I left."

I glared and turned to him, looking at him for the first time since I had felt his presence in the stands. He was standing on the steps behind me, how he gotten to that part of the stands I will never know, but he hadn't been there before. He was standing in his wet robes, his shaggy hair curling along his jaw line in the stormy weather. "You haven't changed," I hissed in my whisper. If I raised my voice anymore I would have screamed at him. "Still finding someone else to blame our old problems on."

He returned my dark glare with those midnight blue eyes that broke my heart. There was a depth in his eyes, an age that had never been there before. That aged stare had seen the worse fears of all men trapped in the darkness and cold that was Azkaban prison.

It was frightening how different, and yet the same, he looked. He was still handsome, but in desperate need of a hair cut, shave and shower; he still had his dark eyes with that new depth to them; he was lean and tall, but frail and hungry looking. I knew it wouldn't be long before he gained his strong body back and looked like the young Sirius Black I had fallen in love with—if he wasn't kissed and given that chance.

"Our old problems are a thing of the past now, Cadence. But I wouldn't blame Gabriel for _our_ problems, I'd probably blame you," he said coming closer to me. I stood up from my seat and backed away from the staircase as he approached. Anger was shaking through my body. How dare he blame me for our destructive relationship and how it ended twelve years ago? That wasn't fair at all. I kept my wand in my hand next to my side. There was no point in raising it to Sirius; he'd continue to come towards me. I held my free hand behind my back and made a dagger appear in it.

"I could also blame myself," he said holding his chest. "I could think I was the reason you ran into Gabriel's arms…but I don't know how that could have been considering that I loved you with everything I had."

"I never cheated on you with Gabriel," I said ruthlessly. His babbling was getting to me more and more. I could fell my emotions building up in my chest making me feel like I was going to burst at any moment; and there were tears running down my cheeks.

"You were having an emotional affair," Sirius said shaking his head. He laughed, as if something funny just came to his mind. As soon as his eyes fell back on me he glared. "You say that I caused you to lose faith in our loved, but for a good part of our relationship you were in love with Gabriel. And now you're together…"

"We're not," I said crossly. "We're just work partners."

"And yet you're sharing a hotel room," Sirius voice was like ice. "You didn't wait very long to replace me with him considering how broken you were when I left you."

I rolled my eyes. It hurt that he thought I had wanted to be with Gabriel over him, but I didn't want him to know it. I didn't want him to know that he hurt me in so many ways and yet I still loved him—in some sick twisted way I loved him for hurting me; just like I loved Gabriel for hurting me.

"I can see that you still haven't lost your jealousy for him," was all I could respond. Sirius had me at a loss of words. Was this really what we were going to fight about in the Hogwarts Quidditch stands? How Gabriel had come between us? We weren't going to fight about the Potters, the possibility that Carrigan was his daughter, or that I was supposed to arrest him?

"Can you blame me?" Sirius asked ruthlessly. His tone was frightening as he continued to approach me. I continued to step backwards, not taking my eyes off him as grew closer and closer. "I wanted a family with you—I loved you—of course I'm going to be jealous of the bastard that you replaced me with!"

"That _bastard_ wasn't responsible for killing my two best friends!" I finally burst. I screamed so loud with all my rage that had built up over the course of the afternoon that the stands shook below our feet. Sirius fell forward and grabbed onto the back of the seats in front of us. I frowned as he straightened up, glaring at me.

"Neither was I," he said. His voice was so deep and depressed it broke my heart. As I looked at him I realized that he really wasn't the same man I had known. He was broken, and I wasn't sure if he'd ever get the passion for life that he once had back. Was he broken because he had killed his best friends, or was he broken because he had spent twelve years in Azkaban when he was innocent?

"Cadence?" Gabriel's voice yelled through the stands. I didn't turn my eyes away from Sirius, who was looking at me with a smug disappointed look.

"Go on, your lover is calling," he said waving me off. He turned and walked away slowly, descending the steps of the stands and turning to disappear under the bleachers. I dashed after him, down the steps and to the tarp that he had disappeared under. Looking under the stands only revealed the large structure that held the stadium up. I frowned as Gabriel appeared at my side.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked.

I ignored him. Sirius Black was gone—as if he had never been there at all. I turned to Gabriel, dropping the tarp and began to walk away.

"Wow, you don't even want to talk about this?" he asked following me back up into the stands.

"No," I said. Gabriel had no idea what was bothering me now. He had no idea that Sirius and I had just fought about my loyalty to our past relationship. It seemed that would be the only thing we would ever fight about. We fought about Gabriel while we were dating; we were fighting about it now when I was supposed to be catching him for murder of my best friends. I was stupid. Why had I let him stand there behind me and chat me up? Why didn't I throw my dagger at him? I was trained enough that I could have killed Sirius Black with out a second thought—so why didn't I?

I couldn't answer that question, which frightened me to the point of insomnia that evening. Gabriel lay sleeping soundly next to me as I stared at the ceiling of the hotel room, wondering what kind of power Sirius had over me that would prevent me from catching him. Because of my insomnia I got out of the bed and began to do strength exercises on the hotel room floor. I lost count of how many push ups I had done by the time Gabriel woke up and asked me what was wrong.

"Just can't sleep," I said. "Go back to bed."

The rain was still slapping against the window as I continued to do push ups. Gabriel was sitting up in the bed, the sheets falling off his excellent chest, but I wasn't looking at him. I was staying focused on my breathing as I pushed my body away from the floor, and then lowered it slowly.

"Cadence, we're supposed to be partners," he said. "That means you should tell me what's going on—"

"We're partners," I said sitting down and looking at him. I pushed my long hair out of my face and sighed as I stared him down. "That's means I'll be there to cover your back. It doesn't mean that I have to tell you everything that's going on in my head."

"Whatever is going on in your head may get the best of you," he said moving to the edge of the bed. "If something is going on I need to know so I don't get caught with my pants down." I stood up and he grabbed my hand. I looked at him with icy eyes and pulled my hand from his grasp. "Talk to me. It's about Sirius, isn't it?"

"You're starting to sound like him," I said turning away.

"You saw him at the stadium today, didn't you?" I heard him get out of the bed and I frowned. His mind was penetrating mine, which frustrated me more then anything else. I cocked my head to the side and forced him out as I leaned against the desk in the corner of the room with my eyes squeezed tightly closed.

"Why do you do that?" I whispered. "Why can't you leave me be?"

"Because I think, despite how much you hate him, that you won't kill Sirius Black if you get the chance. I don't think you'll turn him in either," Gabriel said honestly. "And if I'm right, then that's an issue for both of us."

"No it's not," I said turning to him. "He may be the Father of my child, but he's a lying murdering bastard. I'll get him just as fast as you will."

Gabriel looked at me very seriously with all knowing eyes. I stood my ground, glaring straight back into his eyes. I wasn't going to let him stare me down; I wasn't going to tell him what was wrong—what had me worried. I don't know why I didn't want to tell him. Maybe I was ashamed that I didn't seem to have control over my own actions; that somehow despite everything he had done, I still loved Sirius Black and that made it impossible for me to kill him. Gabriel approached me slowly.

"You couldn't kill me either," he whispered in my ear as his fingers traced on my shoulders. I sighed and closed my eyes, letting him hold me. Our bodies pressed together, creating a comforting security that I longed to have consistently in my life. As I clung to Gabriel I realized that no matter how often I hated him he was consistently there. Gabriel was my constant. Sirius was not. And I shouldn't let that get in the way of my work. It was time to let go of my feelings for Sirius Black. It was time to move on.


	21. On the Ice

The next day the weather was just as horrible; cold, rainy and windy; not weather for a Quidditch game. But not even the weather could stop the entire population of Hogwarts to gather in the Quidditch stadium to watch the game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. I was happy that I was at least in the staff booth, which was covered from the rain. The students stood in the lower parts of the stands, unprotected from the icy rain.

Gabriel was sitting a few rows behind me, speaking to Dumbledore quickly about something. I didn't care very much to hear what he was talking about. I was focusing my attention on the game, specifically Harry, as he raced around the pitch on his Nimbus 2000. He was an excellent rider, much like his Father. I frowned as I remembered James.

"He flies like James," said a voice next to me. I turned and smiled at Remus Lupin who was sitting down next to me.

"I'm surprised to see you," I said squeezing his arm. "I thought you'd be resting."

"I've had enough rest," he said with a force smile as he patted my hand, but I could see it in his eyes that he was exhausted. I took his hand and squeezed it tightly in mine.

"It's okay to take some days off," I said in a low whisper.

"No," Remus shook his head. "I don't want the students to catch on."

I nodded my head slowly. "I'm sure some of them know."

"Of course," he said in agreement. "I know Carrigan noticed right away."

I smiled and looked at my lap.

"She is a smart girl, Cadence," he said.

"Did you expect me to produce dumb children?"

Remus laughed as I smiled and he shook his head. "No, of course not. She's the best student in her class, which is promising considering her age. It's not surprising considering you and Sirius."

"No," I whispered with a small frown at the mention of Sirius. "It's not surprising."

"She's going to be a magnificent witch."

"She already is," I said. "She's more powerful then I am. She's already mastered Legilimency, it's just a matter of time before she figures out how to conjure things on her own…she's going to be a wonderful Auror."

"Do you think she has a larger purpose?" Remus asked. Neither of us were paying much attention to the Quidditch game at this point, but Gryffindor was winning.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

Remus frowned and looked around him. "You don't really believe your Father is gone, do you?"

"No," I said.

"Do you think Carrigan may play an important role in defeating him?"

"I don't know," I said. "I think that Harry is meant to defeat my Father—he's defeated him once already."

"So have you," Remus said.

"No, I've just escaped him," I said with a shake of my head. "Harry destroyed my Father's physical being. There's a difference."

"I think if Carrigan is more powerful then you, she may be very important to your Father's destruction."

I frowned. "I haven't thought about it. I'm more worried about Carrigan's destiny as it merges with Gabriel's."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked with raised eyebrows.

I sighed. "Gabriel is my Guardian," I whispered softly. Remus nodded his head, understanding what I meant. "He and I fell in love, which is forbidden. His daughter died because of it and now he is to remain my Guardian until I die. I will always need him and he will always need me. I'm afraid that Carrigan is meant to be Gabriel's next student, but they would also have an unnatural relationship because he is her Godfather and they love each other. I'm afraid the consequences of that could be horrendous."

Remus nodded his head very slowly. "That is interesting."

"Yes," I said. "It makes for wonderful dinner conversation."

"So you and Gabriel…" Remus said very slowly.

I gave him a small glare. "We have loved each other for too long."

Remus smiled. "You're together?"

"No," I shook my head. "Contrary to popular belief we have never been together."

"Why not?" I looked at Remus with tired eyes as I pulled my cloak more tightly around me. "Oh," he said with a nod. "Couldn't give Sirius the satisfaction."

"I never cheated on him," I whispered. "But when he attacked Gabriel a month ago he thought Carrigan was Gabriel's child."

"He just wants the satisfaction of being right," Remus shrugged. "It will make him feel better after all of these years."

"I'm afraid that false assumption is putting my daughter's life at risk," I said.

"No," Remus shook his head. "Just yours and Gabriel's."

He smiled at me and I couldn't help but return the grin. I knew that he was right. If Sirius wanted revenge for Gabriel's and my relationship he would take it out on us. I had no idea how he'd ever learn the truth. Sirius had never been good at listening. He only heard the parts of the story that he wanted to. It didn't matter what I told him, in his head Gabriel and I were together; and there was probably no changing that.

"So, even now," Remus said. "You're letting Sirius dictate what you do and who you're with?"

I frowned. "It's more complicated then that."

"How complicated could it be?" Remus asked glancing back at Gabriel who was still talking to Dumbledore. "If you both love each other it's not complicated."

"Fine," I sighed. "I'm making it complicated."

Remus nodded. "That doesn't surprise me."

We both smiled at each other again. Remus let out a low sigh as he closed his eyes and rubbed his head. I touched his shoulder, squeezing it to make sure he was okay. I knew he really shouldn't be out in the bad weather. He needed all of his rest so he could keep up with his teaching responsibilities. Before I could say anything to Remus about minding his health a horrible cold came over the air—colder then the blustery wind that had been blowing all day. I looked out into the stadium as screams erupted from the student body below us. I jumped to my feet as I saw Harry Potter fall off his broom, his body plummeting to the ground below us.

Dark shadows were swooping down onto the stadium from all directions; screams of panic echoed against the trees of the Forbidden Forest not too far away from the stadium; and pandemonium broke out around the pitch.

Dumbledore was on his feet and to the front of our booth in the stands before I even noticed him passing us. His wand fully extended, pointing towards Harry who was still plummeting to the ground. I jumped to my feet and bounded forward over the seats in the booth. I hesitated for a moment at the front as I stood next to Dumbledore and looked across the field to the opposite side. In the booth, directly across from me I saw a large black dog bounding out of the stands. I frowned deeply, knowing full well that it was Sirius Black running from the stands. I looked down to see where he might exit, hoping this time I could head him off. As I searched I realized though it didn't matter. There was no way for me to get down to the ground fast enough to catch him. I looked down to spot where Harry was in the air, and my eyes caught sight of a red and gold banner swaying below me in the chilling wind.

The banner bearing the Gryffindor lion hung from the booth I stood in to the next one, at least a quarter of the pitch away. I glanced at Dumbledore and Gabriel who had come to stand right next to me. Without a second thought, I lifted myself over the edge of the booth, grabbed onto the side of the banner and let my weight and gravity pull me down. I swore I heard Gabriel scream my name as I jumped, holding the end of the banner in my hands like a rope, a life line. Screams could be heard from all directions because I just jumped over the edge of a booth in the Quidditch stadium; and because Dementors were setting into the stands.

I sailed through the air, plummeting towards the muddy pitch below. I prayed as I fell that the banner would catch and hold my weight and not rip on the other side, otherwise I would free fall into the earth. Within moments there was sharp tug on the banner, I jerked to a halt in the air, about a story above the ground. Before I could release the banner, I dropped steadily lower. I looked up to see the banner ripping. My arms were growing tired from holding onto the banner, and with out hesitation I released it and fell to the ground. I collapsed in the mud from the fall, but jumped up instantly. I raced to the center of the pitch, where Harry's body had landed innocently in the grass.

I brandished my wand, screaming the Patronus Charm to rid the pitch of the Dementors, but there were too many of them. The beaming bright white dove that sailed from my wand hovered over Harry and me as I collapsed to my knees next to him. As I leaned over him, gasping for breath because my lungs were being filled with icy air, something caught my eye. I looked out across the pitch to see the black dog running along the stands, heading for the entrance of the stadium. My stomach flipped with excitement, despite the happy emotions that were being sucked from me by the ghostly Dementors. I sprang to my feet and dashed off across the pitch, heading for the entrance, hoping to cut Sirius Black off.

I didn't make it. He slipped out of the stadium without anyone noticing. I cursed under my breath and pushed my body to run harder as the rain pleated down on me. Past the entrance of the stadium it was near impossible to see anything across the grounds. I looked towards the forest, thinking that is where Sirius would most likely be hiding. Sure enough, as I squinted, I saw the silhouette of the black dog weaving in and out of trees on the edge of the forest. I quickly directed myself across the slippery grass to the edge of the forest, where I ran between trees to catch up with Sirius. I ran almost completely across the grounds until I lost sight of him. I skidded to a stop at the edge of the forest at the top of a hill that lead down to the Black Lake. The Quidditch pitch stood far in the distances, and Hogwarts Castle was closer now then it had been before. I looked around bewildered, how had Sirius lost me?

The wind was knocked out of me as something heavy flew down, tackling me. I lost my footing as the heavy mass knocked me over and together the stranger and I fell down the slippery hill towards the lake. As my body hit the frozen lake, I skidded to a stop about thirty feet from the shore. I looked next to me to see Sirius Black lying near by in his human form. He sat up, shaking his head, and looked directly at me with a vicious glare. I sat up, putting my weight on my hands to crawl towards him, but I froze almost instantly as the sound of creaking ice echoed around us.

The rain was pounding down on the frozen lake. It wasn't cold enough outside to freeze the water, but the Dementors gliding by on their way to the Quidditch pitch would have been cold enough. The ice was creaking underneath Sirius and my weight, ready at any moment to break. I looked down and could see straight through the thinning ice. I didn't dare move, I didn't breathe. I glanced up Sirius who was motionless.

"Just don't move," he whispered.

"That's not going to do me any good," I snipped quietly. "It's melting too fast, I'm going to fall right through—"

As if on cue, the ice cracked underneath me. My lower half fell into the water as a sucking force pulled me in. I gasped as the cold water attacked my system, feeling like a thousand needles were being shoved into my lower half. Sirius lunged forward and grabbed onto my arms, holding me up against the ice. His movements caused more cracks to form.

"Let go of me," I snapped.

"Are you crazy!"

"If you don't you'll fall in," I hissed. "I'll get out—"

"Don't be stupid," Sirius said as he pulled on my arms which were slipping from his grasp. The force of the water was pulling me down, and the ice was cracking under Sirius's weight. Within moments his arms were in the water with me.

There were yells from somewhere in the distance, but I could barely hear them. I saw Sirius look towards the shore and a fearful look entered his eyes. People were coming—Gabriel was probably leading the way; he was going to try and save me. Sirius looked directly at me and his midnight blue eyes looked torn. My life may be the cost of his freedom. I bit my bottom lip and squeezed his arms as I clung to him. It was ironic to me that just last night I had laid in bed thinking that it was time to let Sirius Black go; to get over him; and now here we were and he wouldn't let go of me.

"Let me go," I said. "Let me go!"

Sirius looked at me with torn eyes. He nodded his head and squeezed my arms one last time. I took a long breath and he released me. The moment our hands released each other I sunk down into the Black Lake. The water was colder then anything I had ever felt before. Pins and needles attacked my body, making me want to scream and open my mouth. I had to fight the desire. I had to keep my mouth shut or I would lose my last breath of air. I opened my eyes and swam up for the surface, banging against the wall of ice that blocked me from oxygen. I hoped that the ice was thin enough that I could shatter it, but I was having no such luck. The cold prevented me from thinking straight—I could have destroyed the ice with a blink of my eyes—but I couldn't focus on anything. I began to panic when the ice would not shatter as I beat against it.

Suddenly the ice shattered—scattering through the water with deadly speed. I covered my face and pulled my knees to my chest. A few pieces hit me, cutting open my body as they whizzed by. There was a splashing sound, and I turned to see Gabriel's body sailing through the water. He had just dived in and was swimming for me. I reached for him as my body shook and blood began to mix with the water around me. Within moments his hands were on me, grabbing me and pulling me against him.

When we broke the surface I gasped for air as I clung to Gabriel. We were both coughing as we reached the shore, where Remus, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were waiting for us. I was violently shaking against Gabriel's chest, and when I looked at my hands I could see that they were turning blue. I didn't know if it was possible, but it felt colder now on the shore then it had under the water. The rain was still pouring and wind roaring. Remus wrapped a blanket around me as Gabriel continued to cradle me in his arms. I closed my eyes as I leaned against him, thankful, once again that Gabriel was there to get me out of trouble. I truly was dependent on him.

Hours later I woke up in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. I was surprised to find myself there, not really sure how I had arrived in the white tidy bed. But as I laid there staring at the ceiling what had happened earlier in the day returned to me. I looked to my right and saw Harry Potter laying a few beds away from me. I sat up slowly, feeling stiff, and brushed my messy brown hair out of my face. Harry turned his head to look at me as I yawned, which caught me by surprise.

"I didn't know you were up," I said softly. My throat was dry, making me cough after I spoke. Harry sat up and poured some water from a pitcher on his bed. He sat up and held it out to me as I approached him. "Thank you," I whispered. I sipped the water slowly as I sat down on the bed opposite Harry.

"You stopped the Dementors?" he questioned.

"Yes," I nodded my head very slowly.

"Why didn't you stay though?" he asked with wise eyes. "Everyone said you just ran off—did you see him?" I stared at Harry's green eyes for a few moments. I assumed he was asking me about Sirius Black, which was a little unnerving. Harry was a very curious teenager, or he was much smarter then people gave him credit for.

"Yes," I whispered.

Harry's green eyes flashed with fear for a moment. I frowned as he sat back in the hospital bed and pulled his knees to his chest.

"So he is after me?"

"Some people think he's here to finish what Voldemort could not."

"What do you think?"

"I think that Sirius Black is an unpredictable, dangerous man. No one is safe as long as he is here."

I could see it in Harry's eyes that he knew I was skimming around his question. He looked away, seeming to except that I was going to be like most adults and not answer him directly. I didn't like not being honest or direct, it wasn't usually in my character, but I really had no idea what Sirius Black was up to at Hogwarts; yes, the most logical target was Harry, but close behind him was Carrigan. Frankly, it didn't matter who Black was after; the only thing that mattered was catching him.

Harry looked at me suddenly. "I've heard rumors….about you and Carrigan."

"What kind of rumors?" I asked prepared that Harry was about to question my loyalties again. He no doubt had questions concerning my Father, and maybe even Carrigan's Father.

"When we were at Diagon Alley, you said you were Voldemort's daughter?"

I waited for a moment, not sure if Harry's comment was a statement or a question.

"It's true," I said calmly. "Is that what the rumors were about?"

"No," he whispered shaking his head and looking me square in the eye. "The rumors that have been going around school are that Carrigan's Father is Sirius Black, which means you were involved with him."

"I was," I nodded honestly. I didn't see a point of hiding anything from Harry. I bit my bottom lip not sure how much I should tell him. It wasn't really my place to tell him that Sirius was his Godfather, and that he was responsible for the Potters death. But whose place was it?

Harry nodded his head slowly. He seemed unsure what to do with this new information. He sat back on the bed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Does Carrigan know?"

"Yes," I said. "She's not afraid of who she is, nor is she ashamed. I tried to convince her to change her name before coming to school, but she refused. She is not proud of her heritage, but she will not hide from it either."

"Is it hard?" Harry asked sincerely. "Knowing what he is now?"

"Yes," I said as I rubbed my thighs and thought about how to answer Harry's questions. "It is. He betrayed me, and I don't think I'm over that, even now. He's a reminder that I have to be very careful about who I trust though. Something that I had forgotten."

"That's depressing," whispered Harry. "How can you trust anyone if you can't trust the person you love?" He frowned slightly. "I'm assuming you loved each other, otherwise you wouldn't have had Carrigan."

"She was an accident," I said shaking my head. "I wasn't supposed to be able to have children. I took a lot of beatings when I was in my last years of Hogwarts and at the start of my career."

Harry nodded his head awkwardly and silence fell between us.

"Cadence," he said suddenly, breaking the silence. I looked at him with smiling eyes.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you take me?" he asked. I looked at him confused. "When my parents died, if you're my Godmother, why didn't you take me?"

I frowned slightly. There was not a simple answer to this question. Lily Potter had asked me to be Harry's Godmother so that he wouldn't end up with her awful Muggle sister, which he did. Dumbledore had thought that it'd be better for Harry to grow up in a non-magical world, to protect him from his fame. So much had been going on when the Potters died, I didn't fight Dumbledore's decision.

"You were safer with your Aunt and Uncle," I said after a moment of thought. "When your parents were killed, I was accused of turning them over to my Father. I fled the country with Dumbledore's help."

"Why were you accused of turning them over?"

"I was very close with your parents," I said. "And people seemed to think that just because of whom my Father was that made me related to their death. It was easy to blame me."

Harry accepted the answer and nodded his head slowly. "Is there anything else on your mind?" I asked.

"No," he said not looking at me. I studied him for a few moments and sighed. It wouldn't be right to invade his mind, if he wanted to tell me something he would.

"Alright," I said softly as I stood up. "I think I'm going to get going. If you need anything Harry, don't hesitate to ask. I am your Godmother after all."

Harry forced a smile as he looked at me. "Right," he said slowly with weary eyes.

"You should get some rest," I said as he laid down. "It's been a long day."

Once Harry seemed comfortable, I left the hospital wing. I held my stomach as I made my way down to the entrance of the castle because I felt very weak and hungry. I had only been sleeping for a couple of hours; it appeared to be the middle of the night as I roamed the empty halls of the castle. When I reached the entrance hall I heard hushed voices speaking quickly with harsh tones. As I descended the stairs and the hall came into view I was surprised to see Gabriel, dragging Carrigan by her arm towards the staircase.

"Your Mother would not appreciate you running around late a night," Gabriel said.

"I wish you'd stop acting like my Father—news flash Gabriel, you're not—"

"Why are you two arguing?" I asked injecting into their conversation. Both stopped dead in their tracks before the staircase, where I stood leaning against the banister. I felt dizzy as I tried to catch my breath.

"Mom, what are you doing awake," Carrigan said coming to me. She wrapped her arm around my side and held my weight against her small body. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I'm fine," I sighed standing up straight. I looked down at Gabriel who looked concerned. He mounted the steps and met my eyes, taking in my tired look immediately. "What are you doing down here, isn't it past curfew?"

Carrigan's cheeks flushed pink and she glanced at Gabriel who gave her a stern look. Carrigan sighed as she looked up at me.

"I was out on the grounds," she said. Gabriel coughed, which caused me to glance at him. "With Neal," Carrigan added. I smiled slightly and nodded as my stomach tied in knots.

"I see," I whispered. "Where is Neal now? Surely, Gabriel didn't kill him?"

"No," Gabriel said innocently.

"He almost did," Carrigan said. "I'm going to be lucky if Neal will even speak to me after what happened outside."

"And what was that?"

"Gabriel lit a tree on fire!" Carrigan stammered. "He intimidated Neal to the point that he ran off! I'm never going to have a boyfriend now."

"I'm sure you'll manage," said Gabriel. "Come on, get to bed. Your Mother needs to get to bed too."

Carrigan turned to face Gabriel, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not forgiving you."

Gabriel smiled a charming half cocked grin. It was an all knowing smile that I had seen him wear many times. It was a look he gave me when I did the same thing Carrigan was doing now. I would act angry at him, cross even, or hate him, and somehow Gabriel always knew that I didn't mean it. He knew that I loved him, just like he knew Carrigan loved him, even if she was mad at him for a little while.

"That's fine," he said with a bow of his head. "I don't ask your forgiveness."

Carrigan sighed with annoyance and turned to me, looking at me with midnight pleading eyes. I smiled slightly and pinched her cheek.

"He means well," I whispered. "And he is right. I don't appreciate you running around the grounds unsupervised because earlier today I fought with your Father."

Carrigan frowned and nodded her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Will you apologize to Gabriel?"

"For what?" she asked scandalized. "For ruining my future dating life?"

I laughed slightly and glanced down at Gabriel who had turned and walked away to give us some privacy. "No, for snapping at him when he's just doing his best to protect you."

"I'm not his to protect Mom," Carrigan retorted. I looked at her with soft eyes and her aggressive expression relaxed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I just don't like it when he's over bearing."

I nodded my head. "I understand. I feel the same way sometimes. But you have to realize Carrigan that Gabriel loves us, we're all he has and he doesn't want anything to happen to us."

She looked at the ground with a frown. I touched her chin lightly and lifted it so she could look me in the eye. "He means well. But you can't hate him for protecting you like a Father, because sometimes you are more then happy for him to fill the role. You don't get to pick and choose when he gets to play the part. It's all or nothing."

Carrigan nodded her head and turned, heading back down the stairs. I watched as she approached Gabriel and called his name. He turned to her with a calm smile and she stopped, speaking quickly. Gabriel nodded his head and said something, then both of them hugged. I smiled and let a relaxing breath escape me.

Carrigan walked back to me and stepped up the stairs. When she reached me she squeezed my arm and kissed my cheek. "Good night, Mom," she said. "I'm happy that you're alright."

"Thank you," I said hugging her with one arm. "Good night, Carrigan. Sweet dreams."

Gabriel and I stood in silence, watching as Carrigan made her way upstairs. Once she was out of ear shot I turned to him quickly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You lit a tree on fire?" I questioned.

"She's over exaggerating," Gabriel said with a roll of his eyes. "It was just the branches of the tree…and I did it to light where they were hiding as they kissed."

I sighed as I walked down the steps slowly, still holding my stomach. Gabriel reached out and took my arm, ushering me down the steps. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"I'm just not feeling well," I responded. I leaned against the banister of the stairs and took another slow breath.

"Cadence?"

Gabriel's voice seemed far away as I leaned against the banister. I turned to look at him and blinked. "What?"

"You're not okay," he said stopping me at the base of the steps and holding my shoulders.

"I'm just tired," I whispered. "Let's go back to the hotel, please?"

Gabriel studied me for a few moments before he nodded his head. He turned and ushered me out of Hogwarts castle. The weather was still horrible, and as soon as we passed the gates to the grounds Gabriel held me tight and Apparated us back to the hotel room. Apparation had not been the best option. The moment my feet hit the ground in the hotel room, I bent over, grabbing my knees and threw up on the floor. Gabriel sighed and stood next to me, holding my hair back. When I was done throwing up the contents of my stomach he picked me up in his arms and carried me to the bed. I closed my eyes with sleepiness and sighed as he turned away to clean up my sick. Gabriel tapped my thigh to stir me, and when I opened my eyes he placed some dry clothing on the bed next to me. I sat up lazily and pulled off my wet clothes and shoes. I stood up and changed then immediately fell back into bed. My dirty clothes sat in a wet pile on the floor. I closed my eyes and began to fall asleep again. I felt Gabriel crawl into bed next to me; he gently pulled my hair back and touched my bare shoulder.

"What happened after I ran from the Quidditch game?" I asked quietly.

"Dumbledore was furious with the Dementors," Gabriel whispered as he stroked my arm. "He had Harry taken to the Hospital Wing and demanded that the Dementors stay off the grounds. I saw you run from the stadium. What were you thinking jumping off the stands like that?"

"I was thinking they were going to kiss Harry, or that Sirius was there," I said. "I couldn't let him get away."

"What happened on the ice?"

"What do you mean? I fell through," I said.

"I saw Sirius holding onto you," he whispered. "He tried to save you."

"Yes," I whispered. "So what?"

Gabriel grew quiet and let silence surround us. His arm wrapped around me and I felt him pull me closer to him. I sighed slightly and brought his hand to my mouth, kissing his flesh softly. He squeezed my hand and kissed the back of my neck, sending shivers through my entire body. I took a long breath and closed my eyes, praying he wouldn't ask question or invade my mind.

I didn't want Gabriel to know that I had thought it was impressive that Sirius tried to save me. The look in his eyes as he debated between releasing me or holding onto tore me to pieces. There was a sinking felling in my stomach as I held onto him in the ice cold water. Something much deeper then betrayal and revenge had made Sirius slide across the ice to grab onto me. Something had made him save me. Was it possible that he still loved me? Was it possible that love could triumph over evil? Betrayal?

I bit my lip and sighed, then rolled over and buried my head into Gabriel's chest. He held me tight and brushed my hair with his fingers gently. I felt like I was young and stupid again. Gabriel was there to protect and comfort me, like he was when Sirius left me; when he betrayed the Potters; when I was pregnant. Somehow, no matter my feelings for Gabriel, I always had feelings for Sirius—even now, after everything that had changed; even when I hated him with all my being. Gabriel was a good man; the man who loved me and knew me best. Why couldn't I let him in? Why couldn't I give myself to him? Why couldn't I let myself love him?

"Because you're a stubborn idiot," Gabriel whispered in my ear. I looked up at him with sad eyes. His dark grey eyes smiled down at me as his fingers traced my jaw line. "But I probably wouldn't love you if you weren't."


	22. Secret's Out

I had the flu for the next couple weeks leading into December. Being sick was miserable, and resulted in me staying in the hotel for most of the weeks. I was just starting to get over the sickness when Hogwarts went on Christmas holiday. I wasn't sure at the time what Carrigan and I were going to do for the holiday. Gabriel and I still had to stay in Hogsmeade because of our post, but I wasn't sure if Carrigan wanted to stay with us, at Hogwarts, or if she was set on going home.

Gabriel had brought her down to the hotel to see me on the last day of the term. Carrigan was warmly dressed in a winter traveling cloak, black scarf and matching mittens. Once she and Gabriel entered, she began to take off her cloak to reveal that she was wearing dark blue skinny jeans, a white button up blouse, and a black vest. I smiled as I lay in the bed. She reminded me so much of myself.

"Hey Mom," she said coming to me once her outdoor clothes was off. She sat on the bed next to me and kissed my forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Better then I have in a while," I whispered. "How are you?"

"Fine," Carrigan said. "Happy that term is over. I was dying under all of my school work."

I nodded remembering my school days and the school work I was usually buried under. I bit my bottom lip and looked at Gabriel for a moment. He had taken off his cloak and was at the desk, standing tall despite leaning over the paper work on the desk. I spent my first Christmas in England with Gabriel when he kidnapped me from the platform at the train station. Carrigan caught me staring at him and pinched my arm to get my attention.

"Ouch, what was that for?" I asked rubbing my arm as I glared at her.

"For staring at my Godfather with desperate eyes," Carrigan responded in a whisper.

"I do not have desperate eyes," I snipped. Carrigan gave me a cross look and I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest. "What do you want to do for holiday?" I asked changing the subject.

"Can I stay with you guys?" Carrigan asked. "I wouldn't mind getting out of the castle for awhile."

"Of course," I nodded. I looked back to Gabriel who had turned to us. Of course he had been listening to our conversation the entire time. He approached the bed slowly with his hands in his jean pockets.

"I'll get you two a separate room," he said. "Across the hall hopefully."

"Thank you," I said with a smile. Gabriel nodded and walked out of the room. Carrigan sighed and crawled over me to the other side of the bed. She laid down with her head on the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. "What's the matter?"

"Neal broke up with me," she sighed. There weren't tears in her eyes, but she was obviously perturbed by the situation.

"Why?"

"Said I was immature—which is ridiculous—and that it wasn't worth losing his life to date me," she said as she glared at the ceiling. I looked to the ceiling where a small brown circle was beginning to form.

"Carrigan," I said grabbing her arm. She blinked and looked at me as the smell of burning wood filled the room. I looked back at the ceiling frowning deeply. The burn mark she had just created on the ceiling was the size of a large mixing bowl. Carrigan frowned deeply.

"Sorry," she whispered. "He just makes me so mad."

"Well if he's going to be that much of a jerk then you shouldn't have been with him to begin with," I responded with a comforting tone.

"I know," she nodded. "I'm mad because I wasted my time. I could have been doing homework all the times we were hanging out!"

I laughed slightly. "Take it as a lesson learned. Boys are dumb."

"Is that why you aren't with Gabriel, even though you both love each other?"

"We've been over this Carrigan," I said lightly.

"It's not because of me though, right?" she asked.

"What?" I looked at her confused.

"Mom, if Gabriel makes you happy you should be with him. I don't want you to sacrifice your happiness for me or my safety," she said wisely. "It wouldn't be weird if my Godfather became my Step-Father. Gabriel is practically my Father as it is."

I was staring at Carrigan with confusion. Before I could say anything, Gabriel entered the room and brought a new key to us on the bed. Carrigan sat up and took it, because I was still staring at her with shock.

"What's the matter?" Gabriel asked as I blinked and looked up at him.

"I think you and Mom should get married," Carrigan said as she hopped off the bed with the new key in her hand. Gabriel smiled slightly and looked at me. I slapped my forehead and sighed roughly. This conversation was getting more and more awkward the longer it went on.

"Is that why you started to burn a hole in the ceiling?" he asked.

"That was Carrigan," I said defensively.

Gabriel shook his head. "I can't leave either of you alone."

"Well it's your fault really," Carrigan said. "If you hadn't scared Neal half to death he wouldn't have dumped me for a dumb reason and I wouldn't have burned a hole in the ceiling."

"I'm sorry he dumped you," Gabriel said sincerely.

"It's alright, he wasn't worth my time anyways," Carrigan shrugged. "I need to get my stuff from Hogwarts."

"I'll take you up there in a minute," Gabriel said. He then turned and looked at me. "Why does she think we should get married?"

"She's worried that I'm not letting myself be happy because of her," I said looking at Carrigan who was looking around the hotel room, pretending to ignore us and give us some privacy. "But I wouldn't be happy married to you anyways."

"I know," Gabriel laughed pinching my arm affectionately. "It means we'd have to be committed to each other. I know that scares us both a bit."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "Thank you for going to get her things with her. I'll pack my stuff up and move over to the hotel room. Can you have her stay at Hogwarts tonight? I have to get her something for Christmas."

"Sure," he said leaning close to me. I gave him a nasty look as he leaned in close to my face. His breath felt hot on my neck and sent shivers through my body. I put my hands on his chest to stop him from coming closer to me, which caused him to smile. He touched my hands and stood up straight; bringing my fingertips to his mouth. He kissed my hands delicately as his eyes stared at mine. I continued to glare at him as I fought ever urge within me to smile. He broke free suddenly, releasing my hands, and turning away.

"Come on Carri," he said opening the hotel room door. "Leave the new key for your Mother."

"It's on the dresser," Carrigan said point to where she had just stood.

"Thank you," I said. Carrigan waved and turned to leave the room.

"Hey, Gabe," she said as they exited. "Can we train over holiday? I haven't practiced in awhile."

"We'll see Carri," Gabriel responded.

The hotel room door closed sharply behind them and I sighed. Gabriel's kisses still lingered on my fingertips, making my body pulse with desire and my mind fog with confused feelings. I pushed the sheets off of me and stood up. I was still in my pajamas, and I hadn't showered in a few days because of my sickness. I took a long relaxing shower and once I was clean and changed, I packed up the stuff I had in the hotel room. Gabriel and I had been living in the hotel room for almost a month. I was happy that I'd see a different room then this one—I was starting to hate it. I was never the kind of person to define one place as home; I believed that I didn't have a home, or a safe place. Most of the time while in England I had been a nomad, moving from place to place with out a permanent residence. This was mostly because it was not safe for me to be in one spot. My Father had always been on the hunt for me, so Sirius and I constantly moved. We lived in dirty old abandoned apartments, the finest places his money could buy, with the Potters at one point, and even Hogwarts. The house in the countryside was the first I had ever owned—and I did not define it as a safe place; too many people knew about it. I thought it was better to be on the move.

I moved my belongings across the hall to the new hotel room. It was a slightly larger room with two beds instead of one. Everything else was the same—the bathroom, the desk, dresser, and closet. I frowned slightly as I put my trunk in the closet. I had hoped the room would look different. I was becoming bored with my surroundings; I wasn't sure if it was because I had been living in the hotel for a month, or because I had been sick the last two weeks and spent all that time in bed.

There was a knock at the door, I went to it and was not surprised to find Gabriel standing in the hall waiting for me. I stepped to the side and allowed him to carry in a large trunk.

"Your daughter has more clothes then you do, if that is possible," he said setting the trunk down at the foot of one of the beds. I smiled and crossed my arms over my chest as he stood tall, looking at me with dark eyes. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," I whispered. "I was just thinking that I'm going to get her more clothes for Christmas."

Gabriel nodded his head slowly and approached me. His fingers touched my hips, gripping my belt loops, and pulled me against him. His dark eyes were looking at me with deep longing, a certain depth stood in his eyes, making me feel like he could straight into my soul.

"You have something else on your mind," he whispered. His lips were close to mine, creating a shiver that ran through my entire body. I closed my eyes and held my breath for a moment.

"No," I finally whispered as I looked up at him. "But I think you do."

"I would never ask you to marry me," he said with knowing eyes. He stood back and looked at me with a frank smile. "I know you don't want that—"

"But do you?" I asked. My fear was that he did. He wanted to marry me, to have me to be his.

"No," he said shaking his head. "You won't even let me call you my girlfriend, why would you marry me?"

"That doesn't mean you don't want it," I said sorely. He hadn't released me, but suddenly I wished he would. His body was so close, I could feel it pressing against me; his lips were near to mine, creating a sexually charged tension between our bodies. I wanted to escape. I didn't like where this conversation was going—because in the back of my mind I was so afraid he would say yes; he would say that he wanted to marry me, and I would be the bitch again. I would be the lone woman who wished to never be tied down, committed or controlled. Gabriel and I had a complicated relationship as it was, wouldn't being married make it worse?

"Cadence," he said my name softly. "Neither of us are the marrying type. We both know that."

"Alright," I said relaxing with a nod of my head. Gabriel looked at me with serious eyes. He was testing me, to see if I was really okay with the discussion. He wanted to make sure I wasn't just appeasing him.

"Do you want to have sex?" he asked with a charming smile.

I punched him in the shoulder as he laughed, taking the punch. As I pulled my hand away he grabbed and squeezed it lightly. I couldn't help but smile at him as he pulled me against him.

"Carrigan asked me to train her," he said.

"I heard," I nodded as I looked up at him with dreamy green eyes. Gabriel smiled at me and stroked my cheek.

"Are you okay if I do?"

"Yea," I shrugged. "We can do it together. Probably out in the woods by the Shrieking Shack."

"In the cold?" he questioned.

I shrugged as I pulled out of his arms. "Why not? It's not like we can train in the hotel room."

"But we could at Hogwarts," Gabriel suggested.

"Why are you afraid of the cold?" I asked as I picked up my cloak. Gabriel sighed.

"It's just not my preferred teaching conditions," he said coming up behind me. "I prefer inside…" His hands touched my hips again as he pulled me back against his body. I smiled and bit my bottom lip, then turned to him.

"I know you do," I said. "You prefer half naked, sweaty, wrestling with each other."

"If it's you, yea," he nodded kissing my neck. I smiled and pulled out of his arms, I wasn't going to let him tempt me into anything.

"Well it's not me," I said. "It's my daughter."

Gabriel stood up straight and frowned. "You had to ruin that moment didn't you?"

"Had to make you stop thinking about sex somehow," I said. There was a sharp pecking on the window, surprising both Gabriel and I. Gabriel went to the sill and opened it, allowing a snow white owl to sail in. I admired the beautiful creature as she soared through the room and landed on the dresser in the corner by the closet. She dropped a letter to the floor. Gabriel picked it up, looking at the black thin writing carefully.

"It's for you," he said extending it to me.

I raised my eyebrows as I stepped to him and took the letter. I ripped it open and saw that it was from Harry Potter.

"Harry is asking to see me," I said. I looked up at Gabriel with worried eyes. "Right away."

"Does he say why?" Gabriel asked holding out his hand for the letter. I gave it to him with a frown.

"No," I whispered. "I'll go see him." I took the letter from Gabriel and went to the desk, turning it over. I picked up a pen and wrote on the back of Harry's letter, telling him I'd meet him in the entrance hall in fifteen minutes. I folded the letter and flicked my wand at it, sealing it shut. The white owl swooped down from her perch on the dresser and landed next to me on the desk. I smiled at her and extended the folded parchment to her. She took it in her beck and sailed out of the open window. Gabriel closed the window behind her, and turned to me.

"What do you think is the matter?"

"Has to have something to do with Sirius," I whispered biting my bottom lip. "Which means he's probably realized that Sirius is responsible for his parents murder." I frowned and ran my hand through my hair as I heaved a sigh. "Alright, I need to go. I'll see you later."

"Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

"No," I shook my head. "This is going to be difficult as it is, the last thing I need is you breathing down my neck."

Gabriel smiled. "It is a pretty neck."

"Shut up," I said going to the hotel room door. I gave him a smile, and then left the room.

When I arrived at Hogwarts, Harry was already waiting in the entrance hall for me. He was pacing at the bottom of the staircase, his arms crossed over his chest, and a look of anger in his green eyes. I frowned as I approached him, knowing by his body language that he had just found out about Sirius Black being responsible for his parents death.

"Hello Harry," I said folding my hands behind my back. "What's the matter?"

Harry looked at me, fury written all over his face. He took a breath and said

nothing. I sighed and looked at the ground.

"Would you like to go somewhere more private?" I suggested.

Harry nodded his head and marched up the stairs. I followed him quickly as he led me down a hall to a classroom. He threw the door open and marched in. I followed calmly and closed the door behind me.

"You knew!" he shouted. I frowned. "You knew he was responsible for their death and you did nothing!"

I stood tall in front of the door with my hands behind my back and let him scream at me. Perhaps he just needed to let out his frustration, much like I had when I found out that Sirius Black—the man I had loved—was responsible for our best friends' deaths.

"You ran to save your own butt!"

"He had been caught, you were safe, there was nothing else I could do," I whispered.

"How didn't you know?" Harry questioned loudly. "You were in a relationship with him, how could you have not known?"

"We had broken up a few months before it happened," I responded. "But I asked myself that all the time. I buried your parents Harry. I dug their graves and I buried them, then I vowed to find and protect you."

"Well I had already been found," Harry snipped and then paced around the room. I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why didn't you tell me what he had done? That he was my Godfather?"

"It was not my place to tell you," I shrugged.

"Who's was it then? Dumbledore's? He didn't tell me either," Harry snapped. "Why am I being treated like a child when it comes to my parents death and my safety—"

"Most likely because you're acting like a child," I interrupted raising my voice slightly. "You have every right to be mad Harry, I think you have every right to scream—but tell me, when you found out did some part of you want to run out there and find him, to look for him so you could get revenge?"

Harry was silent as he glared at me. I recognized that glare all too well; his mother had given it to me many times and it didn't faze me at all now.

"That would be a rash and childlike decision to make," I continued. "Even if you had good intentions. Sirius Black is a lying murderer. He fooled all of us—me, Dumbledore, and your parents. He betrayed all of us. You have every right to hate him. I hate him too."

"I want to find him," Harry nodded. "I want to catch him and—"

"And what? Kill him?" I questioned. Harry frowned and shook his head, turning away from me. "Killing him won't bring your parents back."

"He should have died!" Harry said slamming his hands on the desk in front of him. "They should have kissed him in Azkaban! Then he wouldn't have had the chance to escape!" I frowned and bit my lip as Harry kicked another desk. He calmed down after that, and looked at me with hatful eyes. "I want to get him."

I smiled slightly. "I admire your will, but it's not your job to catch him. And you won't be doing anyone any favors by going out there and getting killed yourself."

"I can defeat him," Harry said arrogantly.

I pulled my wand from my boot and flicked it at him, knocking him to his feet. He jumped up, and glared at me viciously as he pushed his glasses back on his nose.

"What the hell was that for!"

"If I were Sirius Black you'd be dead," I said shaking my head. "I don't think your parents sacrificed themselves for you to die now, against Sirius Black none the less. You have a much more important purpose Harry. Don't disappoint you parents."

"You don't know what would have disappointed my parents."

"I have a pretty good idea," I snapped back. Harry frowned and stepped back. "Your parents _died_ for you, Harry. Don't let their death be in vain."

Harry rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry no one told you," I said. "I'm sorry I didn't. I should have, seeing as he was my boyfriend and we are both your Godparents. I'm sorry I didn't. I'm sorry for a lot of things because I know I've disappointed your parents, especially your Mother. I vowed to protect you if something ever happened to them and I haven't because I was selfish about my own protection. But I'm not going to let you go out there to try and find Black. It's not going to happen."

"You haven't kept your word to my parents yet," he said ruthlessly. "Why would you start now?"

"Because I'm here now," I responded with a shrug. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Harry rolled his eyes again and walked past me, exiting the classroom. I sighed as I let him leave. I wasn't going to go after him. He needed someone to be mad at; he could be mad at me if he wanted. I suppose he had every right to be mad. I should have told him about Sirius Black; I should have protected him better.

I sighed loudly and rubbed my hand over my face. There was nothing left to do at Hogwarts, so I turned and left the classroom, closing the door behind me. As I walked down the hall I passed an open doorway, someone called my name from it. I had made it down the hall a few steps when Remus Lupin appeared in the doorway.

"Cadence," he said with a small smile. "How are you?"

"Oh, hello Remus," I said stopping and turning to him in the hall. "I'm okay, how are you?"

"Just fine," Remus shrugged. He gave me a weak smile. "Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?"

"Sure," I said forcing a smile. I walked back down the corridor and followed Remus into his office. He closed the door behind me, then went to the desk where he made a second chipped tea cup appear. He poured tea from a steaming pot into the cup and offered it to me. I took a seat as I thanked him, taking the cup from his fragile looking hands.

"What brings you to Hogwarts today?" asked Remus as he sat down behind his desk. I sipped the tea slowly, allowing the hot liquid to run down my throat and relax my system.

"Harry asked to speak to me," I whispered. "He might come to you next."

"Why is that?"

"He just discovered who Sirius is," I responded as I set down the tea cup on Remus' desk. I leaned on the arm of my wooden chair and rubbed my face. "This is a nightmare. He's upset with me, which I suppose is justified because I'm his Godmother. But what was I going to tell him? Especially with everyone walking on egg shells around him, like this type of news is going to send him into a blazing fury!"

Remus gave me a half smile because I was ranting.

"I don't think you did anything wrong, Cadence. He was going to find out sooner or later."

"I should have told him," I shook my head. "He should have known."

"Except that Dumbledore, and the Ministry, didn't want him to know," Remus shook his head. "Because they were afraid he would be sent into a blazing fury and seek revenge."

"Well they were right," I said leaning back in my chair. "He wants to kill Sirius."

Remus raised his eyebrows at me with some concern.

"I think it's just a first response," I shrugged. "He's angry that he hasn't been told the entire story concerning his parents' death. He's not just angry at Sirius, he's angry at those who have said they're protecting him. He feels betrayed. I can relate to that."

"Most of us can," Remus said.

I nodded with a small smile. Of course most of us could relate to being betrayed, especially by Sirius Black. I bit my lip and ran my hands through my hair, then picked up the cup of tea and finished it.

"This was not how I planned to begin the holiday," I sighed.

Remus gave me a smile and shrugged. "He was going to find out eventually."

"I suppose," I nodded. "Now we just have to make sure he doesn't go after Black."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Remus said. I nodded, thanking him and stood up. Remus stood up also.

"Have a Happy Christmas, Remus," I said coming around and hugging him. "We'll be in Hogsmeade if you'd like to stop by."

"I may," he said with a nod. "Tell Gabriel I say hello."

"I will," I smiled. "Thank you for listening."

"Of course," Remus beamed. "Anytime."

I thanked him again, and then made my way from the office. The halls of Hogwarts were quiet as I walked through them. Holiday had begun; the school was deserted because children had returned home to see their families over Christmas. As I exited the castle and made my way across the grounds I saw Harry, Ron and Hermione having a snow ball fight near Hagrid's hut. Hagrid stood outside the hut, watching the three play in the snow. I waved to him, and he waved back. On the side of the hut I could see Carrigan playing with Hector, the pair rolling in the snow. I smiled as I continued to the gates. It was good to see all of them enjoying the cheerful winter weather and their time off. I prayed silently as I walked through Hogsmeade, heading for the hotel, that the holiday would pass peacefully. I hoped Sirius wouldn't cause mayhem—I hoped we'd catch him before the New Year.


	23. Gabriel's Fall

I was frowning deeply as I watched Carrigan get ready to go out. Gabriel and I were going to train with her out in an open area of woods on the edge of Hogsmeade. I thought it'd be beneficial for Carrigan to learn to define herself in the cold and snow. It was one thing to learn defensive skills in a sand pit, basement or classroom, but another thing to actually have to defend yourself outside in the elements. You had to take different factors into consideration—which I had failed to do that day on the ice with Sirius. I didn't want Carrigan to make the same mistakes I had, but I knew she had to learn on her own.

Carrigan was pulling on some of the new clothes that I had gotten her for Christmas; a black blouse, black died jeans and a black waistcoat with red lace details. What was making me frown was that she was also wearing the hip holster Gabriel had gotten her. I wasn't sure how I felt about my eleven year old wearing a hip holster meant to carry a knife. Along with the holster, Gabriel had gotten her a small six inch blade. The hilt of it was engraved with Carrigan's name, and then a small diamond was encrusted on the end of the hilt. Diamond was Carrigan's birth stone, and Gabriel got a certain amount of pleasure from being the first man to give Carrigan a diamond. I thought the entire thing was ridiculous—first of all the knife was gaudy looking and too expensive of a gift to give an eleven year old; secondly, the knife seemed inappropriate to give an eleven year old, even if it was Carrigan who was a phenomenal witch and fighter. I wanted to keep Carrigan as innocent as long as I could, while not hiding the truth from her in any way.

Gabriel had told me I couldn't have it both ways—I couldn't protect her innocence and train her for the potential war that would come if my Father ever returned. I couldn't tell her she was in constant danger because of her heritage and not train her for physical and magical battles. She deserved the opportunity to prepare herself and she was eager to learn.

"Ready Mom?" Carrigan asked standing in front of me proudly. She had pulled on her leather winter jacket, and stood before me with her hands on her hips. Her feet were spread wide and her chin up. She looked ready for battle. I smiled as someone knocked on the door.

"Yea," I said as Carrigan relaxed and crossed her arms over her chest. I opened the door of the hotel and smiled at Gabriel who came in, carrying a large duffel bag wit him. He placed it on the floor next to the door and I frowned again. "Are we going into battle?" I asked kicking the bag with my booted foot.

Gabriel shrugged and smiled at me. "Just want us to be prepared."

I nodded my head slowly and walked to Carrigan. I stood behind her and put my hands on her shoulders, smiling proudly. "What do you think?" I asked.

"Wow," Gabriel said beaming. "Carri you look just like your Mother."

"We've heard that before," I said moving away.

"Thanks," Carrigan grinned. She was very proud of her outfit, new shinny weapon, and looking like me.

"Here wait," Gabriel said opening the bag and pulling out a camera. "Get together again, we should take a picture."

I looked at Gabriel with raised eyebrows. "I swear, Gabriel, you're more of a family man then your persona lets on," I said as I pulled on my long leather cloak.

"Just get in together," he motioned for me to move back to Carrigan. I rolled my eyes and moved back to my daughter to appease him. I put my hands on Carrigan's shoulders as I stood behind her and forced a smile for the camera. Carrigan stood with one hand on her hip and the other holding my left hand on her shoulder. He even came over and took a picture with us, so that the three of us were smiling up at the camera from his arm length away. I'm sure they were beautiful pictures, but I thought it was ridiculous the way Gabriel was acting like our family patriarch. I'd get over my frustration when I got the chance to beat him up in the woods.

There had been a fresh snow overnight, and the sun was beaming brightly in the sky, reflecting off the white covered ground. When we walked outside the square in the center of the village was bustling with cheery people, all happy to still be celebrating Christmas a week after the fact. Children were running about with new outdoor toys, sleds, hats, mittens and boots. Snow ball fights were prominent as children played in the new snow. Parents stood by watching, shopping, and exchanging late gifts.

I put a pair of aviator sunglasses on to block the broad reflective rays, and led the way across the square, Carrigan and Gabriel talking quickly as they followed. I'm sure we were quite the scene as we walked through the peaceful village. People looked at us with confusion and worry. By this point, most of the villagers were used to Gabriel and me walking about with our weapons and leather on. They knew that we were the Aurors from the Ministry, sent to keep an eye out for Sirius Black. It was Carrigan who disrupted the notion of the traditional nuclear family. An eleven year old girl wearing tight black pants, black combat boots, and a black leather coat, with a six inch knife holstered on her hip was a little unnerving. I looked over my shoulder to see Carrigan smiling broadly. She was more then pleased that she was upsetting the social order of the small village around her. She was contradicting the social norm for her age and gender—and she was very proud of that.

Now I just had to make sure that she knew how to use that knife effectively. Any Death Eater that saw her would no doubt laugh, thinking it was all for show. Gabriel and I had to make sure that Carrigan could talk the talk of defense skills. She definitely could walk the walk; she had that down just by watching me do it for the last eleven years.

There was a large clearing in the woods on the outskirts of the village. As I looked out at the clearing the Shrieking Shack stood broadly in the distances at the top of a hill. I saw some kids playing outside the gate of the property, throwing rocks at the house, and pushing each other to the gate trying to get one of them on the property. The Shrieking Shack had been rumored to be haunted for years, since it was abandoned years ago. This of course was a ridiculous rumor, but it served a noble purpose. There was a tunnel from the grounds on Hogwarts that went to the Shrieking Shack. The tunnel had been made by Dumbledore when Remus began at Hogwarts. The crazed screams, cries, and shaking of the houses had been Remus transformed as a werewolf in the house. Remus would go to the house once a month, take a potion, and remain hiding in the house through the full moon.

"What do you want to start with?" Gabriel asked as he dropped the bag into the snow next to a rock. I turned and shrugged at him.

"You're the expert," I said.

Gabriel frowned slightly and gave me a steady look. We had agreed to train with Carrigan because we thought it would be essential to her protection and survival. Neither of us was living under the guise that my Father was dead; rather we were stuck with the assumption that he was currently very weak and would return to full power eventually. I had this fear especially because Voldemort had attempted a blood bond ritual on me that connected us to each other, and made Voldemort all the more powerful. He also had tried to connect my soul to his—which Dumbledore seemed to think hadn't worked because, as he put it, "I would know if my soul were permanently connected to Voldemort's." But if either of those two ceremonies had worked in the least bit, then it was safe to say that Voldemort was still crawling around the Earth somewhere because I was still alive. The point though, was that if Gabriel and I assumed that my Father was going to return to power, then Carrigan had to be trained to defend herself. Death Eaters had made a career out of hunting me; I imagined they'd do the same for Carrigan. But, despite our agreement and justification for training her, there was still concern about Carrigan being Gabriel's third student. Unfortunately there was no way of knowing their destiny; but I had to believe that fate would work out this time.

Gabriel and I were bound together, and I had a magically powerful daughter who needed to be trained. It would be a waste of Gabriel's skills to not have him train her, no matter what their destinies were meant to be. It seemed plausible that despite our forbidden love, Gabriel was still meant to train future witches or wizards. If he were meant to train anyone else he would have left me a long time ago to do so. I only hoped that Carrigan and Gabriel's relationship was not considered an unnatural one, and therefore deemed unfit by the powers of the universe.

I took a seat on the large rock next to the duffel bag Gabriel had thrown on the ground. Gabriel shook his head and I smiled.

"Go ahead and teach," I smirked as I motioned for him to begin. He rolled his eyes and shrugged then moved across the clearing to Carrigan. He took off his coat and told her to do the same. She followed directions easily, but as she turned her back to throw her coat on a near by tree he grabbed her arms, kicked her knees out from behind her and grabbed the shiny new knife from her holster, placing it against her throat.

I could see the side of her face and recognized the smart look in her eyes. There was no fear, which was unfortunate. If a Death Eater were pinning her down like that she should be fearful. But perhaps trusting Gabriel helped; she could keep a clear head and think her way out of the situation.

_She needs to learn fear_, Gabriel said to me with Legilimency. I grimaced and closed my eyes for a moment.

"Don't ever turn your back to your opponent," I heard Gabriel say. I opened my eyes to see that he had released Carrigan. She was getting up to her feet as she glared at him. She held out her hand for him to give back her knife and when he extended it to her, hilt first, she grabbed his wrist with one hand, the knife with the other. She stepped close to him, not being strong enough to pull his fully grown body to her small pre-teen one, and placed the knife against Gabriel's crotch. I smirked slightly. She may have no idea what she was doing, but she was feisty, which made me proud.

Gabriel froze the moment Carrigan's six inch knife touched the zipper of his jeans. He glared down at her and I knew in a moment the true fight was going to straight. Carrigan wasn't experienced enough to see that despite having a small blade to Gabriel's crotch he could easily step back and slap or grab her with his free hand. She only held one of his wrists—perhaps if she were a full grown woman she'd be able to hold him close enough that he couldn't get away, but that was not the case and Carrigan had to learn what she could do with her body.

Sure enough, Gabriel stepped back, grabbed Carrigan's arm with his free hand and lifted it up. He twisted his wrist that she had been holding and grabbed onto hers, switch the position of power in the fight. He twisted her body, forcing her to turn around and pulled her back against his chest. Her small hand still clung to the dagger and if Gabriel hadn't been careful when he turned her around she could have sliced half his face open, but that was also something Carrigan wasn't trained for. I bit my bottom lip as I studied them standing tall in the snow; Gabriel holding Carrigan against him as she squirmed steadily in his arms with the dagger in her hand. He was holding both of her wrists, with her arms crossed in front of her chest. I was impressed when Carrigan pulled her weight down, bending her knees and ducking down under Gabriel's arms. The motion caught him off guard and he released her wrists allowing her to completely escape him.

When they broke apart Carrigan threw her knife at Gabriel, who caught it and threw it back at her. I inhaled sharply as the knife flew by her and slammed into the tree behind her. I sighed and put my head in my hands as anxiety over took my system. Perhaps these training sessions were not something I wanted to sit in on.

Carrigan was not like me. When I had started training with Gabriel, I didn't want to. He had to motivate me by making me angry, picking on me and knocking me to the ground. Of course, at the time he was still a Death Eater and he was supposed to be training me to be one also. That explained my resistance and his cruelty. Carrigan was motivated and eager. She wanted to be the best at everything; she'd ask Gabriel to show her moves, ducks, punches, kicks and other defensive skills over and over again so she could memorize every detail. Her attention to detail allowed to her catch on fast, but also cost her. She was a perfectionist and had a hard time imagining how to use her skills creatively, individually.

"You're predictable," Gabriel said catching her ankle three days later when they were training again. Carrigan had made to kick him, but he caught her and squeezed her ankle tightly so she couldn't pull away.

"So are you!" Carrigan snapped back. "You'll just flip me like you did two days ago."

Gabriel pushed her leg back towards her, causing her to fall back into the snow with a soft yelp. She felt flat on her butt and jumped up instantly, frustrated that he had throw her so easily in a new way.

"You can't be predictable, Carrigan. People know who you are because of your Mother. They know I trained her and they will assume that she and I trained you. That is your greatest weakness. You can't let anyone know who trained you," Gabriel said as she made to punch him. He blocked it, forcing her arm under his. She made to punch him in the jaw, but redirected the punch into his collar bone, jugular area. Gabriel chocked when she socked him and stepped back, releasing her arm. She kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back again and then jumped, catching his arm and forcing her weight on his knees. She stood taller then him only because she used his body as a structure and slammed her elbow down into his already injured neck. Gabriel grunted as he collapsed under Carrigan who toppled with him, but caught her balance and landed on her feet. She wobbled a bit a first, but squeezed her muscles and stood up tall. Gabriel lay on the snow below her sighing deeply.

I stood up and moved through the mostly trampled snow to Gabriel. I clapped Carrigan on the back as she smiled broadly.

"That was not very predictable," I said as I extended my hand out and helped Gabriel up. Carrigan brushed her messy brown hair out of her face and embraced Gabriel tightly around the waist.

"I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" she questioned looking up at him with dark midnight blue eyes. I bit my bottom lip as he smiled down at her and brushed her hair out of her face.

"No, you couldn't hurt me, Carri," he said with a soft laugh. "You know you'd make an awful Death Eater."

"Thank you!" she said cheerfully. She broke free of Gabriel and started to walk away. "Can we keep going?" she asked facing us as she walked backwards in the snow.

"No," I said. "It's almost dark."

Carrigan heaved a sigh and turned around looking for her coat and holster that she had thrown irresponsibly into a bush. I looked up at Gabriel who looked at me with tired eyes. I frowned slightly and reached out, touching his cheek.

"Gabriel Quintin," I whispered. "Is it possible that you are getting too old for this?"

Gabriel forced a smile as his chocolate brown eyes stared down at me. "No," he whispered touching my hand that rested on his cheek. He brought it to his lips and kissed it gently. "You keep me young."

I smiled; of course he'd say something ridiculous and romantic like that.

"You know that kind of charm doesn't work on me," I whispered.

"Doesn't stop me from saying," he shrugged.

I let him kiss my fingers a few more times before I pulled away and moved across the clearing to the large rock that I had been sitting on. I began to pick up the various weapons Gabriel and Carrigan had been practicing with and put them in the duffel bag he often carried out with him.

"Gabriel?" Carrigan's voice said softly from somewhere close to me.

I glanced at her, and did a double take. She was running across the clearing to Gabriel who had fallen to his knees in the snow. I turned sharply and raced after Carrigan as she screamed Gabriel's name again. When she reached him she caught his shoulders as he fell to his side. His body weight was too much for her and collapsed under him into the snow. I skidded to a stop and knelt down next to Gabriel who lay on my screaming frightened daughter. I grabbed Gabriel's arms and pulled him off her off, laying him down on his back on the ground. Carrigan knelt next to me.

"Mom, mom, what's wrong?" she question as her voice quivered.

Gabriel's eyes were shut, but his eye lids were moving rapidly—he was in a state of REM. I bit my bottom lip and turned to Carrigan.

"You go to straight to Hogwarts—"

"But Mom—!"

"STRAIGHT TO HOGWARTS CARRIGAN!" I yelled harshly over her voice. Carrigan shut her mouth immediately and nodded her head as she bit her bottom lip. She jumped up. "Take the bag. Tell Dumbledore what's happened."

"Where are you going?"

"St. Mungo's," I responded.

I watched for a moment as Carrigan dashed away from me to grab Gabriel's duffel bag. I could see her running away from us in the clearing and once she was out of site I turned my attention back to Gabriel. His body was beginning to convulse—abruptly his eyes opened and to my horror they were creamy white and silver. I had never seen eyes like that before. I closed my eyes and lay against his chest as he continued to shake, pressing my body to him as I concentrated fully on St. Mungo's.


	24. Nearly 20 Years Forgotten

Carrigan and I sat on a bench outside a private ward in St. Mungo's. She was encased in my arms, as if they would protect her from the nightmare she was living. My head rested on hers as we rocked back and forth, comforting each other. I stroked her hair as she clung to the picture Gabriel had taken of the three us the week after Christmas. The happy picture was not a comfort for our tear stained cheeks. I looked up when the sound of footsteps reached my ears. Albus Dumbledore was walking down the corridor towards us, his emerald green robes sailing around him as he strode briskly. Carrigan sighed and hiccupped as I pulled away from her. I stood up and fixed my black blouse as the headmaster approached.

"Miss Coleman," he said with a bow of his head.

"Professor," I said as my voice shook. I motioned for him to enter the door across from the bench Carrigan and I had been sitting in.

"Mom, can't I come in?" Carrigan asked as tears welled up in her eyes again.

"No," I whispered shaking my head as Dumbledore opened the door. I followed him into the room as Carrigan's sobs reached my ears. I closed the door behind me and trapped my eleven year old in the empty corridor, alone.

"What do they think happened?" Dumbledore asked looking at me. I stopped before the curtain that surrounded Gabriel's bed and took a long breath. There was a moment's hesitation in me as I paused. I didn't want to pull back the curtain. I didn't want to see what wait behind it. No matter how many times I said it in my head, it all seemed so unreal. I felt Dumbledore's hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up at him. "Cadence?"

I sighed, coughed and reached out for the curtain. "They have no idea what happened," I pulled back the curtain to see Gabriel lying on a white bed, in medical issued cotton pants, not under a blanket or with socks or shirt on. His body was sweating profusely and his eyes remained closed, still stuck in REM. The rest of his body didn't move. He didn't even look like he was breathing.

"Rapid eye movement," Dumbledore said breathlessly. He approached the bed with two steps and stopped at Gabriel's side.

"He's been like that since I brought him here two days ago," I sighed as tears welled up in my eyes. "I don't understand what's happening—no one does—"

"What happened before you brought him in?"

"He just collapsed," I sighed. "He looked ill. He and Carrigan had just finished training and she got the best of him, knocked him around a bit. I joked he was getting too old. When he collapsed…I thought…I thought he was having a heart ache or something."

Dumbledore stepped around to the other side of the bed. I stood opposite him and took Gabriel's hand. It was cold and clammy. I bit my bottom lip as I looked at him with sorrowful eyes. There were tears on my cheeks and I didn't even notice. My fingers traced up Gabriel's arm, outline his sleeve tattoo. If he were awake it'd tickle him to have me touch him like that. Dumbledore was leaning over him; he opened Gabriel's left eye and I sighed at the sight. It was still a creamy white and silver color—solid, no iris or pupil could be seen. Dumbledore frowned and let Gabriel's eyelid close. He began to pace about the room and stopped for a moment, glancing at me and Gabriel at the bed.

"What, Professor?" I asked nervously.

"I think Gabriel is having a premonition," he responded.

I looked at him like he was crazy. "What?" I questioned. "You mean like Braven had?"

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "And Divinity."

"How is that possible?"

"Gabriel and Divinity share a small connection because he is her Guardian," Dumbledore shrugged. "It may be possible that she has the ability to pass premonitions on, just like it is possible to share memories with Legilimency."

I frowned and looked at Gabriel as Dumbledore continued to talk. "But Gabriel is not meant to receive premonitions. His mind probably can't handle it—so he goes into an overload, a shock, causing him to collapse. He has REM because he is trying to process the vision as quickly as it is happening, but he can't."

"Are you theorizing this?" I snipped with some frustration. I appreciated Dumbledore providing an answer to Gabriel's condition, he was the first to do so, but it was absolutely ridiculous. How could Gabriel be having a premonition? He wasn't capable of such powers—I didn't really believe that Divinity and Braven even were. I shook my head as I took Gabriel's hand and squeezed it.

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "We have no way of knowing until he wakes."

I shook my head and sighed. "Carrigan's scared," I whispered. I wiped my cheeks and stood up straight, trying to hide my tears. "She doesn't know what's going on—no one does, and I don't know what to tell her. Is he dead? Is he going to wake up?"

"I don't know," whispered Dumbledore. He seemed far away as he continued to speak. I wasn't looking at him, only Gabriel's face, hoping that if I stared at him long enough he would wake up. I squeezed his hand and traced the sleeve tattoo on his arm, trying to calm myself. "He's not dead, Cadence. He wouldn't be breathing and he wouldn't be experiencing REM."

I nodded to acknowledge him, but his words provided me with little comfort. I needed someone to tell me what was wrong with Gabriel and when he would wake up. I didn't need anyone telling me he was still alive, or that they didn't know what was wrong. I stood up straight and released Gabriel's hand as I stepped away from the bed. Quickly, I wiped my tears away and sighed.

"I have to get Carrigan back to school," I said. "The term starts tomorrow."

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded as he followed me out of the room. Carrigan stood up from the bench she was sitting on and wiped her cheeks as she looked at me and the Professor.

"Is he dead?" she chocked rubbing her forehead.

"No," I said quickly as I went to her. "No, he's not."

"He can't be," she said as if I hadn't answered her. "I told him he wasn't my real Father—that may be true but he would make an excellent Father. He's the closest thing I have and I really consider him my Dad—"

"Carrigan," I said smoothly as I held her shoulders. "He's not dead. He's just unconscious right now."

"When is he going to wake up?" she questioned with worry.

"We don't know," Dumbledore responded before I could. I frowned deeply and pulled Carrigan into my arms and she began to cry again.

"Come on," I whispered. "Come sit with him for a little before you have to go back to school."

She stood up straight and nodded, wiping her cheeks quickly as if she were afraid of Gabriel seeing her cry. I gave her a smile and took her hand, leading her back into the private ward. She dashed to Gabriel's bedside, grabbing his hand and holding it tightly. She leaned over and kissed his forehead, then whispered something in his ear. I remained at the door to give her some privacy while she spoke to Gabriel. After a few more moments she came back to me, wiping her pink cheeks again.

"Alright?" I asked.

She nodded. "Do you think I can come back soon?"

"We'll see," I responded. She frowned and nodded her head knowing full well that my reply meant that she probably wouldn't come back to visit Gabriel until he woke up. I knew that she was going to be distracted and worried about him even if she was coming to visit him every week; but I was also worried that coming to see him would take away from her studies.

I ushered out into the hall and Dumbledore escorted us back to Hogwarts. Carrigan was reluctant to return to her dormitory, but she went eventually. I hoped being with her friends would brighten her up some, but once the term started and January slowly became February I found that she was still just as depressed as she was earlier in the year. I spent one night a week at Gabriel's bed side. I had a hard time bouncing back from his episode because suddenly I was alone. I found it difficult to do my job—watch Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and hunt Sirius Black, when I was worrying about Gabriel recovering. We didn't know when he would wake up—we didn't even know what was wrong. The only thing the doctor's could go on was that he had collapsed. Dumbledore and I had not told them about his possible connection to Divinity and her visions because they probably wouldn't believe us; and if they did they might take special interest into Gabriel and even Divinity. Seers were very rare in our society; they usually kept their premonitions a secret. Even in the world of magic there were still many unexplained things that were feared and discriminated against.

On Valentine's Day weekend I walked up to Hogwarts Castle, stomping through the many feet of snow that decorated the landscape. I had planned to visit Carrigan; it had been about two weeks since I had seen her despite the daily letters she sent asking if she could see Gabriel over the weekend. I replied to every letter, telling her no that I was going to come visit her instead. I don't think she was very happy about that, she didn't send a reply letter.

She met me in the Great Hall. She was sitting at the Gryffindor table, alone. The entire hall was empty, except for a ghost that was hovering over the professor's long table at the end of the hall. Carrigan looked up in my direction when she heard my boots clicking against the marble floor of the hall. She stood up as I approached her.

"Hi Mom," she said softly with her arms crossed behind her back. I smiled at her and hugged her, squeezing her tightly in my arms. She returned the hug, but not for very long, which didn't surprise me. It was obvious that she was still depressed about Gabriel's current state of health, and she wasn't happy about me not letting her see him.

"Hello Carrigan," I said. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

She nodded and took my hand as I led her out of the Great Hall. We made our way across the snow covered grounds, talking quietly. After awhile we walked out into Hogsmeade as the streets were full of people bustling about to their own busy schedules.

"Neal asked me to go out again," Carrigan whispered.

I looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Oh," was all I said.

"He felt bad about how he had reacted and wanted to make it up to me."

"What did you say?"

"I told him I don't believe in second chances," she shrugged. I smiled and shook my head. Carrigan was too much like me, and I wasn't sure if it was a good thing. I squeezed her shoulder and she looked up at me. "What's the matter?"

"Why don't you believe in second chances?" I asked.

"Well, he said that he couldn't handle dating someone who has a lot of baggage and is a freak," she responded. "My baggage isn't going anywhere. I think people never say things they don't mean…and he just doesn't want to be alone. Don't you think I'm to young to date Mom? Shouldn't you be putting a dating-age-restriction on me or something?"

"I do think you're too young to date, but when have you ever known me to tell you not to do something?" I asked. "Even if I put a dating-age-restriction on you, you could still very well be dating someone and not tell me because of this restriction. I'd rather you be honest with me and tell me."

"When have you ever known me not to tell you something?" Carrigan responded. I smiled at her and shrugged.

"I just don't want to force you to go behind my back," I said. "I want you to know and trust that you can always come to me, no matter what is going on."

"Well I'm going to put a dating-age-restriction on myself," she said. "I can't date until I'm fifteen. Does that seem reasonable?"

"It does," I nodded. "I think Gabriel would prefer eighteen, but please don't save yourself because of him."

"Eighteen is too long," Carrigan shook her head. "And impractical. How will not dating until I'm eighteen prepare me for the real world?"

"I think you're looking too far into this now Carrigan," I said.

"Right," she said smiling. "Fifteen it is though. No dating until then."

"If you say so," I grinned.

"Thanks Mom," Carrigan said wrapping her arms around me as we walked down the cobblestone street heading back for the Hogwarts gates. She seemed to be in a better mood once we reached the castle and said good bye, which pleased me. I didn't like my daughter being unhappy. She deserved to smile.

When I arrived back at the Three Broomsticks, Madame Rosmerta stopped me before I could go upstairs to my room. She called me over to the bar counter and held out a thick parchment envelope.

"This arrived an hour ago for you," she said with a small frown. I took the envelope and thanked her as I looked at my name on it. I recognized the hand writing and cringed slightly—it was from the Ministry; from my boss Rufus Scrimgeour.

"Thanks Rosmerta," I said with a nod. I quickly made my way up to my hotel room, where I threw my cloak onto the bed and went to the desk. Pulling my knife from my boot, I sliced open on the envelope. I placed the knife on the desk and pulled the contents of the letter out.

_Dear Miss Coleman, _

_It has been brought to my attention that Gabriel Quintin has woken at St. Mungo's. He is currently well, with the exception that he appears to have a spell of amnesia. I know this sounds alarming, but the Healers are sure that his memory will return soon. I insisted to be the one to inform you of Gabriel's condition. You may also visit Gabriel as you please. The Healers suggested the most important people in his life visit him; it may help return his memory._

_Because of his inability to return to work I'm inquiring if you will need a new partner? Protocol requires me to assign you a new partner, no Auror is to work independently unless the Minister gives special permission. I will file for permission if you wish me to. But, even if you file to work independently, the Minister has the right to dismiss the request. I know that you and Gabriel work best together, other partners have not worked for you in the past. Please reply as soon as possible with your decision._

_ Signed, _

_ Rufus Scrimgeour _

I placed the letter down on the desk and put my hand to my lips. I bit my fingers nervously as my mind raced. Gabriel was awake? My heart lifted and I felt myself smile. I looked at the letter again, slightly confused by half of it. Why wasn't Gabriel able to go back to work for the next few months? Was he requesting the time off or was Scrimgeour benching him? I grabbed my knife and dropped it back in my boot, then turned, grabbed my cloak off the bed and left the room. I exited the Three Broomsticks as I shoved by two hags coming through the door. I pulled my cloak onto my shoulders and Disapparated as it dramatically wrapped around me.

The lobby of St. Mungo's was crowded, which surprised me. I quickly made my way through the sick and injured people to the help desk where I told the woman I was there to see Gabriel Quintin. She frowned and said that she wasn't sure where he had been moved to, but he was no longer in his private ward.

"What do you mean you don't know where he is?" I questioned with frustration. She looked at me aggravated.

"In case you haven't noticed Ma'am, we're a bit busy," she retorted. I glared at her and opened my mouth to say something but someone called my name. I continued to glare at the woman and turned to see my boss Rufus Scrimgeour exiting from the staircase doors. His full thick hair surrounded his head, and his dark eyes were intense, worried and pained. I frowned and approached him, leaving the dumb woman behind the desk.

"Hello sir," I said shaking his hand and smiling.

"This way," he said motioning for me to follow him. I did as he headed back to the door that he had just come from. We started to go up the stairs in silence, which bothered me. Why wasn't he telling me about Gabriel?

"How long has he been awake? And what is this about him not being able to work?"

"He woke up early this morning," Scrimgeour said. We stopped on the second floor landing and he opened the door for me, letting me pass into the corridor. "I'm afraid he'll need some time off. In here, Miss Coleman."

Scrimgeour opened the door of a shared ward and allowed me to enter. He walked past two beds that had curtains around them and went to the last one. There was quiet talking in the room, which I bit my lip so not to disturb anyone. Scrimgeour pulled back the curtain and allowed me entrance.

Gabriel was sitting up in the bed as a young female healer poked his arm with a needle. She was drawing blood it appeared. Gabriel was still shirt less with his tattooed arms relaxed next to him.

"It's nearly impossible to find a vein, Mr. Quintin because of all your tattoos," the healer said.

"I'm very sorry," he said. "I have no idea why I have them."

The pretty healer with red curly hair and blue eyes smiled at Gabriel and continued to try and find a vein in his arm. They both looked up at Scrimgeour and I once we entered.

"Hello again," Gabriel said. "Sir," he added awkwardly.

"How are you feeling Gabriel?" asked Scrimgeour.

"Still not used to the name, but other then that I feel fine," Gabriel responded.

I blinked, staring at him confused. "Excuse me?" I questioned.

Scrimgeour looked at me with a deep frown. "Miss Coleman," he said softly as he rubbed his chin. "Mr. Quintin is suffering from amnesia."

"What?" I stammered as I looked at Gabriel with disbelief.

"He doesn't remember anything."

"I'm sitting right here Sir," Gabriel said sorely.

"There we go," the healer said. "I found one."

"Ah good," Gabriel said. "I was getting sick of you poking me Clara."

"I'm sorry," she said with pouting lips. Gabriel reached out and touched her cheek, causing me to roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest.

"I don't think he has amnesia, Sir," I said scornfully. "He's just as flirtatious as the last time we were here."

"Well that's good right," Gabriel said still smiling at Clara, the healer.

"Does it help you remember anything?" Clara asked with batting eyes. I was going to gag.

"Maybe," Gabriel responded.

"You hate red heads," I said annoyed. "Ever since Anita—"

"I don't hate red heads," he said looking at me quickly as Clara pulled away from the bed and frowned deeply. She began to pick up her things to clear out of the room. "Who are you to know such things?"

I frowned and glanced at Scrimgeour. "Miss Coleman is your partner at the Ministry."

"We've known each other for nearly twenty years," I whispered.

"Doesn't mean you know me," Gabriel shook his head.

I bit my bottom lip, glancing at Scrimgeour again. I put my hands on the foot of the bed, gripping the sheets tightly. How could I possibly explain to Gabriel who I was? I couldn't tell him we were in love because he'd probably ask why we weren't together then—something I never had to explain to him before.

"If you will excuse me," I whispered. I turned and left the curtains that divided Gabriel's bed from the others. I marched straight out into the hall and let a small scared gasp escape my lips. I covered my mouth and leaned against the wall as tears began to run down my cheeks. How could this be happening? What was I going to do? How could I tell Carrigan? Gabriel and I were two complicated people—his story was complicated, our relationship was complicated…it wasn't something I could educate him in. And even if I told him, doesn't mean he'd believe it or feel like it was true to him. How could this be happening?


	25. Memories

I stood up straight and wiped my tears quickly. I had to pull myself together—I didn't know what to think or do, but I wasn't going to let anybody know it. Gabriel wasn't dead…he just wasn't the same anymore. Hopefully he would come back though. As I stood in the corridor my mind raced trying to organize the over load of emotions that were taking over. What was I going to do about work when protocol required me to get a new partner? What was I going to tell Carrigan, who'd be more then happy that Gabriel was alive, but would be completely devastated that he didn't remember her?

"Cadence."

I turned to see Rufus Scrimgeour standing in front of the ward door. He came to me and held my shoulders.

"I know this is difficult," he whispered. "But we have to remain positive."

"How did this happen?"

"They don't know. They don't even know what happened to cause his episode, or why he was having cycles of REM during his unconscious state. I don't think there is any way of knowing what happened. Only he knows what happened."

"Except he doesn't remember," I sighed.

"He's asking to see you," he whispered.

"What?"

"He feels bad about snapping at you I think," Scrimgeour said. "I have to return to the Ministry. You will be assigned a new partner next week. I would like you to come to the Ministry to receive the assignment. I'm pulling you from your current assignment in Hogsmeade."

I frowned and shook my head. "No, Sir," I said. "Please I need to be there."

"Really?" he questioned with a glare. "You've caught Sirius Black? You've found him?"

"No, but that's exactly why I need to stay there."

"No, you've wasted time and Ministry money," Scrimgeour said. I sighed with annoyance and turned away, pacing down the hall away from him. "It's no matter, the decision has been made. I expect you in my office next Friday."

I turned to argue with him but he was already walking down the hall. I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. This day was just going from bad to worse. I took a long deep breath, hoping to relax and went back into the ward. Gabriel was still sitting up in the bed. When I pulled the curtains back and came to the side of the bed he smiled.

"Those charming smiles don't work on me Gabriel," I said. "You know that."

"Actually," he said with a sigh. "I don't." I frowned, feeling guilty suddenly. "But when I look at you I get that feeling."

I nodded as I took a seat down in the arm chair next to the bed. "Scrimgeour said you wanted to see me."

"I wanted to apology," he whispered crossing his arms over his chest. I sighed as his muscles flexed on his chest, torso, arms and shoulders. I bit my bottom lip and looked at my lap for a moment.

"For what?" I questioned. Gabriel didn't answer, so I looked up at him. He was staring at me with stunning green eyes; it was a familiar stare that caused my stomach to flip and heart to skip a beat. He was looking at me as if he knew something.

"For snapping at you earlier," he said breaking our stare.

"It's alright," I whispered. "You must be very frustrated."

Gabriel nodded. "Yes," he looked at me again, looking my body over. "Miss Coleman—"

"Cadence," I interrupted awkwardly. "I don't think you've ever called me Miss Coleman."

Gabriel smiled slightly and nodded. "Forgive me."

"Always," I replied without thinking. Gabriel looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Cadence, are we involved?"

"To some extent," I whispered.

"So we've had sex?"

I laughed. "No," I said shaking my head. "Not that you haven't tried."

Gabriel rolled onto his side, looking at me closely. "Why haven't we?"

I frowned and looked at my hands. "It's complicated Gabriel."

"We're partners, right?" I nodded my head slowly. "So, you're involved with somebody else but you love me too, you just don't want to leave him. So we're awkwardly involved because we work together."

"What makes you say that?" I whispered with some surprise.

"You're not wearing a ring on your finger, so you're not married," he responded pointing to my hands. I smiled and nodded my head. "Am I right?"

"To some extent," I replied. Gabriel smiled and ran his hand through his hair.

"That's a safe answer," he whispered as his eyes glanced over my body again. "You don't strike me as a safe, prude woman, Cadence. Do you always wear a knife in your boot?"

I pulled the knife out and looked at if with sad eyes. I held it out to Gabriel.

"I took this from your basement after you held my hand and we stabbed you in the stomach so I could escape my Father. It was one of your favorites to use while we were training. It has a matching partner; it is at home, hiding in my nightstand drawer."

"You stabbed me to escape your Father?"

"It was the only way to escape him," I shrugged. "I didn't want to do it that is why you held my hand."

Gabriel turned away, looking disturbed by what I was telling him.

"Who is your Father?"

I frowned. "Lord Voldemort."

Gabriel moved uncomfortably in his bed. "I feel like I should know that name, but I don't."

"Gabriel," I said as an idea came to my head. He looked at me with raised eyebrows. "I think I have a way of helping you remember things."

"How is that?" he asked. I stood up and sat down next to him on the bed, leaning close to him. He smiled a half cocked charming grin as I leaned against his body.

"Well at least I know you're still as sexual as you were before," I whispered as his hot breath grazed my neck, sending shivers through my body. I reached up and touched his forehead with my hand.

"Is that a bad thing, Cadence?"

"No," I whispered. "But you need to look at my eyes, not my breast, if this is going to work."

"Sorry," Gabriel said looking up at me. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to use Legilimency on you."

"What's that?" he asked.

I frowned. This was worse then I thought. Gabriel couldn't remember some of his most used magic.

"I'll show you," I whispered. Before anything else was said, I silently thought of the spell in my head. Immediately my mind was overwhelmed with Gabriel's many emotions and memories. I locked my eyes with him, looking for the memory of the day he let me escape his house when I was fifteen. I found the memory within moments. It was strange to see it this way, from his point of view. I remembered the situation a little different.

_"What are you doing?" _

_ Cadence had asked the question as I poured her juice. She sounded bitter, confused even. Perhaps she should have been. I never served her breakfast in the kitchen. _

"_I thought you might like to eat down here for a change, but please, be my guest and go back upstairs if you'd rather," I said. She made to stand and take the plate with her. "Leave the food though." _

_She frowned. It was all or nothing. _

"_Sit," I said pointing to her chair. _

"_I'm not a dog you know," she said sitting back down and beginning to eat. I sat next to her and helped myself to my own plate of flat cakes. _

"_I'm very well aware that you are not a dog," I replied. "A pussy cat perhaps…but not a dog." _

_She glared at me and put more food in her mouth so she didn't have to talk to me. _

"_You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," I whispered opening a newspaper that was on the kitchen table.. "With how long we've been together Cadence I thought you would have at least mentioned Sirius." _

"_Excuse me?" she coughed on the flat cake in her mouth and looked at me with large eyes. She didn't expect me to know anything about her life. She didn't expect me to care, to want to know more. I had taken her three months ago, and despite my better judgment I had fallen madly in love with her—not that I would ever admit it. _

_I moved the paper in front of her and pointed to the picture of her Grandfather and Dumbledore on the front page. She frowned deeply and picked it up looking at it. _

_The bold headline read: Hogwarts Student Missing for Five Months, Not Giving Up Hope. The article in the paper was talking about her and how her Grandfather, Dumbledore, her friends and her boyfriend (pictured on page A21) were all hoping for her to return soon. _

_I could see the pain in her eyes as she realized that her boyfriend had been waiting for her to return to him. While he was waiting, pining for her, she and I had been kissing. I held her as if she were my own; as if there were no one else but her. _

"_Sirius Black none the less," I said slowly sipping my coffee. "Good pure blood family…your Father would approve of him if he were a Death Eater." _

_She looked at me with a deep frown. _

"_My Father doesn't believe in love," she said putting down the paper. "Why didn't you tell me I was here for nearly five months?" _

"_You never asked," I shrugged. _

"_Why are you showing me this?" she asked looking at the picture of her Grandfather, whom I had killed, and Dumbledore. She turned the pages to see the picture of Sirius. He was sitting in a Gryffindor common room arm chair, with a girl and three boys around him. She reached out and touched his picture softly. He was shaking his head and pushing his black hair out of his face. The girl had tears on her cheeks and one of the boys was squeezing her hand to comfort her._

_Tears were running down cheeks and she coughed lightly, closing the paper on Sirius's face. She closed her eyes tightly, which made my heart ache. I suddenly very like a monster. I had caused her so much pain. I reached out and stroked her cheek, wiping the tears away, but she jerked her head away from my touch._

"_Don't touch me," she whispered. She could barely speak. She looked at me with a glare and saw the sadness in my eyes. "Are you showing this to torture me? To make me cry?" _

"_No," I shook my head. "He's a handsome kid." _

"_Are you jealous of him?" she glared at me with anger. _

"_What is there to be jealous of?" I asked trying to keep a vicious persona on. I didn't want her to know how much I felt for her. How much she had changed me. "You're here with me, whether you like it or not. I would not give anything to be in Sirius's shoes right now." _

"_Anita is a muggle born, isn't she?" she said getting into my head before I could stop her, let alone know she was in there. I looked at her sharply and picked up the paper. "That's how she betrayed you. She said she was a pure blood and after all the time you were together she turned out to be a pure blood. You are jealous of Sirius because he has me and you don't—" _

_I stood up and took her plate from her, throwing it into the sink. The plates shattered and she stopped dead in silence. _

"_You know nothing! And from what I can see Sirius doesn't have you at all!" I yelled. I was looking at her with anger, but beyond the anger was passion. I saw as I glared that she could see the passion in my eyes. She knew suddenly that I had feelings for her whether it be caring, liking, loving or lusting. She glared back at me and stood up from the table._

"_If you care about me Gabriel let me go!" _

"_I can't let you go, Cadence. It isn't that simple." _

"_It doesn't have to be complicated," she snapped. "Unlock the damn door and let me out!" _

"_I'm not in the mood to die today," I said glaring at her. She grabbed my hands. _

"_Then come with me," she said quickly. "We can leave, Dumbledore will protect you…please Gabriel. Let me go…you can't keep me here forever and I will never be a Death Eater. You know that. I know you do." _

"_I'm not the one who makes the decisions of when or where you go," I said softly. _

"_What?" she whispered. _

"_You haven't gone anywhere because your Father doesn't want you to," I said stroking her cheek. "Cadence, I've been trying to get rid of you for weeks now. I don't want you here because the longer you're here the more I want you…I can't have that. Your Father would kill me if he knew what happened a few weeks ago. He would see the weakness in me and kill both of us no doubt. Death is the cost of temptation." _

"_But you didn't give into it," she whispered. _

"_I wanted to," I said back. _

_She released my hands and stepped back, leaning against the counter, as if she were surprised that I actually had feelings for her. _

"_Your Father won't have you anywhere but here." _

"_He knows you're the best then," she whispered with a forced smile. "He wants me trained by the best." _

_She touched my chin as she looked in my eyes and she saw the darkness that made her want to turn away and not know me. I was a Death Eater, like her Mother—her Mother—she did not know this, but I had killed her Mother and it was me that she had stabbed with the kitchen knife when she found her Mother at the bottom of the stairs. I was a murderer. I was everything that she hated and never wanted to be. _

"_The only way for you to leave here with out your Father's knowing is if you kill me," I whispered close to her ear. My hands were on her hips now. I moved closer to her until I there was no where for her to go. I trapped her in my arms. "And I know you can't kill me, Cadence." _

"_I could if I had too," she whispered with a shaky voice even though she was very unsure if she could in fact kill me. I was close enough to hear her words loud and clear. I tilted her chin up and pulled it closer to me, kissing her delicately on the lips. _

"_You have to," I said pulling away from her lips for breath. I wrapped her completely in my arms and kissed her even more deeply. She had never been kissed by a man in that way. My kisses were dripping with passion, wanting more then just her mouth. I wanted every inch of her body; I wanted to make her feel wanted, needed, and beautiful. _

_I took her hand and made a dagger appeared in it. I held the dagger against her palm until her hand took it, then I wrapped my hand around her wrist, my other arm still wrapped around her tightly. My eyes were looking directly into hers. I was not going to make her do this alone. _

"_We don't have to do this," she whispered quickly, losing her nerve before she had even gotten a hold of it. Her hand was shaking now. _

"_We have no choice," I said. "I am not one to run, and I will not go into hiding under Dumbledore's protection. This is the only way." _

"_No," she said quickly trying to pull her hand out of mine. "No, Gabriel, I won't do it. I can't kill you." _

"_I know," I said tightening my grip on her. "This is for you Cadence. It's the only way. The front door is unlocked. Take the cloak in the front closet, make sure you change your clothes before you leave. Get as far as you can as fast as you can." _

"_No. Gabriel. Please…don't make me do this." _

"_Your Father is coming for you today." _

"_Then I will be gone and you won't have to deal with me—" _

"_Cadence," I said sternly tilting her chin up to look at her dark green eyes. "You are not meant to be a Death Eater. Your strength is not that of evil…you are not your Father's daughter. You are a good person and I can't contain you. I won't let your Father break or destroy you. Your goodness is what makes me want you so bad and I won't let him destroy that. If I just let you go he will kill me. I would rather die by your hand then his." _

"_Gabriel," she sighed with tears running down her cheeks. "I won't kill you—" _

_I pulled her hand against my body and the dagger sunk into my stomach. She screamed and released the dagger as she stepped away. I fell back against the counter and held my stomach as pain seized through my center. I pulled the dagger from my stomach and dropped it to the ground as my blood began to spill. _

"_Gabriel," she cried holding onto me as I fell. She fell with me, leaning against the counter as I bleed onto her and the kitchen floor. "You bastard!" _

"_Change your clothes," I sighed with a slow breath. "The cloak is in the closet by the door. Your wand in the drawer of my nightstand…clothes for you in my closet." _

"_I hate you," she said sobbing and shaking her head. "I hate you." _

"_Shut up," I said. "Go. Your Father is coming and I don't know when." _

"_Gabriel, I won't leave you here like this." _

_I picked up the knife and held it over my heart._

"_I'll stab myself again if you don't go." _

_She glared into my eyes and knew I was telling the truth. I was not a bluffing man. She leaned forward against my bloody body and kissed me softly on the lips. I loved the taste of her lips against me, and I prayed that she would remain, just a little longer. The warmth of her body was intoxicating to me. I wanted it never to leave. _

"_Thank you for everything you have done," she whispered. "I owe you my life." _

_I said nothing and she got up, dashing out of the kitchen to go upstairs._

I pulled away from Gabriel's body as I gasped, looking at him with tired, tearful eyes. I had never known that he had such feelings for me from the beginning. I knew he cared—but like that? I wiped my cheeks as I looked up at him. There were tears on his cheeks also, which broke my heart. I had only seen Gabriel cry once—when Anita and his daughter Jennifer had died.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't realize it would be that painful."

"It's alright," he nodded. "I understand what you mean by complicated now. How is that I came to work for the Ministry?"

I sighed and folded my hands on my lap. "Wow. That's a complicated story too, Gabriel. I think I could write four stories on our complicated lives and relationship."

He nodded slowly. "Can I see your memories?"

"Do you remember the Legilimency spell?"

"Teach me," he whispered touching my cheek. "Surely after twenty years the student as surpassed the teacher."

I smiled as he leaned in close to me. "No, you will always be my Guardian and I will always be your student…as is our fate."

Gabriel's lips touched mine gently. I couldn't help but smile as we kissed, old feelings sparked inside of me and I expanded my mine back into his.

_You remember kissing me like this? _I asked.

_I remember many things about your lips…and your body…_

He pulled away and looked at me with raised eyebrows. "How is it we've never had sex?"

"I don't want to prove Sirius right," I shrugged.

"Because you stayed with him? He suspects us even now?"

I smiled. "Yes, even now."

"But you two are not married, are you even still together?"

"No," I shook my head as I frowned. "Gabriel, twelve years ago Sirius betrayed the location of two of my closest friends to Voldemort. He is responsible for their deaths, and the deaths of fourteen other people, including another friend of mine."

Gabriel frowned deeply. "So he's locked up?"

"No, he escaped about nine months ago. You caught him twelve years ago; you were determined to be the one who caught him now—we were assigned to Hogsmeade to watch the village and Hogwarts. We think he is going after Harry Potter."

Gabriel was still frowning. It was obvious that his mind was on over-load, which was unfortunate.

"How is it I survived you stabbing me?"

"Anita found you," I whispered. "She nursed you back to health."

"Was I married to her?"

"No, not that I know of," I said slowly with a frown. I was afraid of telling Gabriel about his dead daughter, Jennifer. She had died when she was about two in a house fire set by Death Eaters. We had never caught who had murdered Jennifer and Anita.

He looked at me and before another word was said I felt him enter my mind, fast, almost without detection. My memories flooded my head, as if I were watching an old video with clips of our relationship edited together to make a horrible sad romance film. I let him channel my mind. I let him see the memories of us together. The cliff notes version. It was easier to let him watch the memories then to tell him, but it drained me emotionally. Everything I had ever felt for Gabriel was over-whelming my system. I hoped it would over-whelm him just as much; but he had always known how torn I was between him and Sirius—maybe all these emotions wouldn't be news to him.

_Gabriel and the Death Eater were wrestling again, and it looked like Gabriel was winning as he slammed the Death Eater's face into the wooden floor of the kitchen. He grabbed the Death Eater's head and pulled his hands in opposite directions. I heard a nasty crack and closed my eyes tight. He had broken the man's neck. _

"_Cadence?" Gabriel whispered out of breath. "You okay?" _

"_Yea," I nodded biting my bottom lip. "I'm fine." _

"_Sure?" _

"_Yes," I said with some annoyance. _

_I didn't know it, but there were small tears on my cheeks, not from the pain but from taking another man's life. I would never forgive myself…it was just like I had feared so often…I was trained to kill and because instinct and adrenaline took over I didn't stop myself. I hadn't wanted to kill him. There was a monster raging inside of me and I wanted to rip it out, killing it so it couldn't kill anymore. _

_Gabriel helped me up and I fell forward into his arms, not able to stand at all. Gabriel looked down and lifted his hand, which was covered in my blood. He frowned and picked me up, cradling me in his arms. _

"_What are we going to do?" I whispered putting my arm around his shoulders. He looked at me and moved forward down the hall. "Only one more Death Eater, and I bet you he's in the room with Sirius waiting for us." _

"_They're going to want me for him," I whispered. _

"_We're not trading," Gabriel said sternly. "We're leaving with Sirius. Period." _

_We reached the end of the hall where the third bedroom was. Gabriel lifted his foot and kicked the door in. He marched into the room carrying me, not thinking at all how he would be able to kill a Death Eater with me in his arms. For a split second I thought we were wrong…Sirius wasn't in the room…and then the horrible feeling in my stomach exploded…everything seemed to freeze as my eyes fell on Sirius's limp body in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall. His head was slumped on his shoulder, and his body was beating and bloody. I screamed and tried to break free of Gabriel's arms, but he held me tight and moved forward; dropping to one knee next to Sirius's body. I moved forward and lifted Sirius's face, tears welling up in my eyes. He was so white…but still warm…I lowered my fingers to his throat and felt for a pulse. _

"_He still has a pulse," I whispered with some relief. "But it's weak." _

"_Alright, let's get him out of here." Gabriel stood up and moved forward to pick Sirius up and throw him over his shoulder. _

"_Why would they just leave him here?" I asked as Gabriel wrapped his arm around my waist and helped me standing, holding me against him. He held Sirius over his shoulder with his other arm and I felt my heart pulse for him. Gabriel was amazing. _

"_I knew you'd come for him, whether he be dead or alive." _

_My heart dropped into my stomach as Gabriel turned around quickly, jerking my body around like a doll's. He backed up against the wall and I could fell his heart rate pick up with fear. _

_In the opposite corner of empty room stood a handsome older man half in the shadows. His voice had haunted me endlessly since May when I had escaped him in Gabriel's old home. I had slipped right under his nose, escaping from the house as he searched the second floor for me…and now here he was…I was face to face with him…and those hauntingly dark eyes. He stepped forward into the little light that there was and I broke free of Gabriel's arm, leaning against the wall to support myself. I glared harshly at the man, my dark eyes matching his. _

_Voldemort, my Father, smiled at me with a twisted grin that made my skin crawl. Every bone in my body was shaking with anger and hatred. I wanted to rip the bastard to pieces, destroy him and the hell that he was responsible for creating. _

"_Now, now, Kieran," he said crossing his hands in front of him. I could see his wand in his left and looked back up at his eyes. Why was he calling me Kieran? "I'm not creating a hell, I'm just ensuring our future." _

_I hadn't even felt him in my head. How had he gotten in there so quickly and smoothly? _

"_Because I am the most powerful wizard," he said with his cruel smile. "Tell me, Kieran, what did you plan to do once you got to your precious Mr. Black?" _

"_Kill whoever was guarding him," I said harshly. _

_Voldemort laughed out loud, smiling at me. He apparently enjoyed my remark. He lifted his wand and flicked it at me. I fell to the ground and slid across the floor, being pulled by some invisible force, until I was at his feet. With another swift flick of his wand I was lifted off the ground and standing in front of him. _

"_You seem to be hurt," he said touching my bloody hip. I stepped back away from him and cringed in pain. _

"_Don't touch me." _

_He pointed his wand at my hip and I felt the blood running back into it, the muscle and skin repairing itself. I took a long gasping breath as the pain left and looked down at my hip…he had healed it. I looked back at up at him and he took hold of my arm, dragging me closer to him. _

"_It was so wonderful to see you Quintin," Voldemort said. I tried to break free from his grasp, but his cold spider hand was locked tightly around my arm. "It is also good to know that your loyalties lie with Dumble—" _

"—_with her," Gabriel said sharply interrupting my Father. Voldemort looked down at me, squirming in his grasp and his lips curled into a god-forsaken smile. _

"_With her?" he repeated. "My darling daughter, Kieran…oh, I see…you love her." Now, Voldemort was taunting him. "So, to stay loyal to your love you'll save the man she loves? Hardly seems fair Gabriel…well I suppose it's no matter…I'm going to kill you now." _

"_No!" I screamed trying to move forward, but he still held me strongly…_

"…_How serious is it?" I asked as I walked next to Gabriel. _

_ "Let's just say that it's serious." _

_ "I don't like you dancing around the situation," I said with a sharp look at him. He put his hand on the small of my back and ushered me up another set of stairs. I could feel his fingertip against my body and they sent shivers all through me. He filled me with so much desire that I wanted to scream. My body was growing tense…and the only thing I could think about was Gabriel's hands all over me to help me relax. _

_ "You need to relax," he said. _

_ I bit my bottom lip and cursed myself for not putting up a stronger mind block around him. He could have been wreaking through my brain the whole time and seen everything—from the dreams I'd had about him and I, to the feelings I felt when we were close together…he could know everything and that was the last thing I wanted. _

_ "You're the one stressing me out," I snipped. "Tell me to relax when there's something seriously wrong…yea okay, like it's that easy." _

_ He smirked at me as we stopped in front of the statue guarding Dumbledore's office. Before either of us could try a password, it sprang out of the way revealing the rivaling staircase. _

_ "He's expecting you," it said. _

_ It always creeped me out when the statue knew who was expected. Gabriel ushered me up the stairs and knocked on Dumbledore's door lightly. _

_ "Enter," came his soft voice from behind the door. Gabriel pushed it open and allowed me to enter first. "Ah, hello Miss Coleman. I wasn't expecting to see you as well." _

_ "I thought it best she be here," said Gabriel. "And we ran into each other on the way up." _

_ Dumbledore nodded. _

_ "Yes, of course," he said sitting down. "I'm surprised it took you so long to get out here." _

_ "I didn't read the paper until after breakfast," Gabriel said taking off his cloak. He was wearing black slacks, a red button up shirt, and black vest that was unbuttoned half way. His shirt was also unbuttoned a little, revealing his muscular chest a bit. His skin was tanned and smooth; it took me a few moments to pull my eyes away from it. He pulled a newspaper from the inside of his cloak then threw it on the back of a chair. I sat down slowly across from Dumbledore and eyed the newspaper Gabriel had just thrown on the desk. _

_ The headline was bold and took up the whole top half of the page:__** Daughter of Dark Lord Discovered!**_

_ I jumped up out of the seat and snatched the paper up, staring at it in complete shock. A picture of me standing near a fireplace in a room that looked like it had been burnt badly by fire, looking slightly mad was plastered across the page under the jeering headline. I looked at the picture more closely, as my figure paced around the room. It was from when my Father had held me captive over the summer and cut me open. I could see my arm bleeding all over the place; this was taken before I had thought of cauterizing it with the hot poker. As my figure paced in the room I realized that my face wasn't perfectly clear, but anyone in Gryffindor House would probably be able to place me—and anyone who had heard the rumor that Snape started the last day of term last year would immediately think of me. _

_ "B-but…how did this…what is this?" I was shaking with fury and confusion. I didn't understand where or how the picture was taken, and how or who had put it in the paper. What did my Father gain from revealing who I was? I stood up straight and dropped the paper. Did he want people to fear me so they would fear him more also? Was he trying to make people think that we were together and becoming a frighteningly powerful force? _

_ "Cadence, sit down," said Gabriel taking the paper from me. _

_ "Don't tell me to sit down!" I yelled violently. I began to pace in Dumbledore's office. I had to move. If I didn't I would scream and start throwing things…something…I had to keep doing something. I squeezed my hands together tightly to try and remain calm and stop them from shaking, but it didn't help. Rage was pumping through me like my own blood and if it stopped I'd die. _

_ "Does it name me, in the article?" _

_ "No," Dumbledore whispered shaking his head. _

"_Early Tuesday afternoon a letter arrived at the Daily Prophet headquarters presenting a letter (and the photo you see above) about a young woman who was in company of Death Eaters this past August. The young woman, as seen above, is believed to be the daughter of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The letter that was sent with the photo does not reveal very much of the girl…only that she goes by Kieran. _

"_Although not very much information was given in the letter, it is believed that the daughter of the Dark Lord is attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and is in her seventh year. What Headmaster Albus Dumbledore will do upon learning of the girl's existence is unpredictable, but it is sure to be a topic of the council of lords…" _

_ I stopped to listen to Gabriel's soft voice as he read bits of the article. _

_ "If you look closely to the photograph, you will notice a dark shape on the young woman's right arm. Is it a Dark Mark? Or is she going to fight against her Father's dark ways? Many arguments lean towards her following her Father—why else would she have a Dark Mark, and have spent part of her summer with Death Eaters? Hopefully, more information will be learned about this, Kieran, and we will all know if she is also to fear like her Father." _

_ My mouth was hanging open. _

_ "Cadence," he whispered looking at me. "I'm so sorry…" _

…"_Cadence," said a familiar voice. "Cadence, it's me." _

_I blinked and the candles relit casting little light onto the face of the person before me. Gabriel Quintin's dark features greeted my eyes and I almost melted into him with pleasure. But as his present settled into me I realized what he was doing and I instantly panicked. He couldn't be here it was all a trap to get him, not me. _

"_Gabriel!" I said in complete shock. "No, no, what are you doing here? You can't be here!" _

"_Saving you, you idiot," he said bending over and cradling me into his arms. "Really, how bad did they torture you if you have to ask me what I'm doing here?" _

"_No, you don't understand," I said quickly in his arms and starting to struggle against him. "It's a trap!" _

_Gabriel stared at me for a few seconds with dark eyes that made my insides turn to mush. I would never understand how he did that to me, or any girl for that matter, but it felt good….and I loved how he made me want him. His strong arms were the only place I wanted to be, and it didn't matter suddenly that I had broken ribs, was tortured, or weak…because Gabriel had come for me. _

"_I told you," he whispered, his lips so close to me. "I would come for you…" _

"…_.No," I shook my head. "No, don't hurt him." _

_Voldemort laughed at me. It was a high pitched laugh that made my skin crawl. I wanted to rip out his vocal cords the moment it started…but there was nothing to stop it. _

"_You're so naïve," he said jeering at me and moving closer. "There is nothing you could do to stop me from hurting him, Kieran. He's brought this upon himself by betraying me. If he didn't have so much valuable information I would kill him now." _

"_He betrayed you for me," I hissed. "He is loyal to me." _

"_I can't believe you're begging for me to not hurt him," Voldemort said suddenly very angry. He was glaring so harshly at me and Gabriel below him that I was afraid I might be cursed just from the look in his eyes. "What the hell did you teach her!" _

_He lurched his wand forward and Gabriel's loud moans of pain filled the room. I moved back away from him and watched in horror as his body squirmed and rolled on the ground before me. I had never seen someone tortured before, but as Gabriel's screams rang in my ear, and his body withered before my eyes I knew I wouldn't be able to bare it. I felt so weak and my heart shattered when Voldemort pulled his wand away and I saw tears rolling down Gabriel's cheeks. It broke my heart because I had always thought Gabriel indestructible, and yet here he was crying just like I had. I went to him immediately. _

"_Gabriel," I whispered. I wiped his cheeks with my thumbs and looked into his dark eyes…they were hazel nut brown today. "I'm sorry; don't hate me for letting him do this." _

"_There is nothing you could do to stop it," Gabriel whispered with dry mouth. "Don't hate me for not be able to take it." _

"_I would never," I said rubbing my hands through his hair. _

_I glanced up at my Father and saw the satisfied look in his eyes that caused a fire of hatred and disgust to burn within my stomach. _

"_Tell him you love, Kieran," my Father said with distain. "Tell him you love him and you're going to get out of this, knowing that it's a lie."_

_I looked up at my Father and then back down at Gabriel, who was looking at me with his dark hazel eyes. There was a smile in his eyes that said he already knew that I loved him and I wouldn't have to say it. _

"_SAY IT!" Voldemort screamed. I knew why he wanted me to say it, because he knew it would destroy me. If I told Gabriel I loved him it confirmed all the conflict within me that I was denying. It would break me in two and I wouldn't know where or who to go to. _

_I looked back to Gabriel who took my hand and kissed it. _

"_You don't have to say it," he whispered. "I already know…." _

_"….There's a curfew now," Gabriel whispered to me as we walked up the street._

_"So why did you want to travel at night then?" I questioned._

_"It's harder to see us in the dark."_

_"You're wearing a white shirt!"_

_Gabriel grabbed my arm and turned down an alley suddenly. He pinned me against the wall and leaned his head down low to me, pressing his lips against my neck. My body grew tense as his lips danced up my flesh to my ear, where he tickled lightly._

_"Relax," he whispered. "Two Aurors are coming down the street. Just relax."_

_Relaxing my body against Gabriel's wasn't difficult because deep down in me I wanted this. I wanted him pressing me against the wall, kissing me with passion and depth, and holding me like I was the only one that mattered. I felt guilty as I let him kiss me, but I tried to heal the guilt with the circumstances behind the behavior. I wrapped my arms around his waist and closed my eyes, allowing him to kiss me. He turned my chin and kissed my lips deeply. As he did so I could hear the footsteps of two people shuffling by us on the cobblestone. They could see either of our faces because we were buried in the others, and hiding in the shadows of the alley._

_I was afraid they might see us and stop, to tell us it was pass curfew and we needed to head inside. If they got one look at us it could cause trouble because no doubt they knew our faces, and that we were wanted._

_"Excuse me," said a voice. My stomach plummeted, this was going to be very bad. Gabriel pulled away from me slowly and looked at the man approaching us. His partner was waiting in the light on the cobblestone street. "Good evening, Sir."_

_"Hello, Sir," said Gabriel moving forward and hiding me from view. I didn't move to be seen, only leaned over slightly to pull my wand from my boot. I clenched it in my hand and prayed that I wouldn't have to use it._

_"You are aware that it is passed curfew?" the Auror asked with his wand in his hand by his hip. Gabriel rubbed his hand through his hair and looked at his watch. He must have been standing in the darkness still, because the Auror didn't seem to recognize him. It was that or the Auror was an idiot. Gabriel's picture had been plastered all over the papers in an attempt to stop pictures of me being printed. Everyone in the Wizarding world knew who Gabriel Quintin was._

_"No, no we didn't," Gabriel laughed looking at his watch. "We just got back from a night out—heading to our hotel."_

_Gabriel pointed up the street to the hotel that we just left._

_"Well, see that you get there soon, Sir," said the Auror. "Have a good evening."_

_The Auror turned and began to walk away slowly. I came forward and touched Gabriel's lower back. The Auror stopped next to his partner and they appeared to be talking. Gabriel took my hand._

_"Let's go," he said. He led me forward, keeping me behind him slightly so the Aurors wouldn't see my face. As we approached the cobblestone street, and turned to head back towards the hotel the Auror who had been waiting in the light while his partner spoke to us called out._

_"That's Kieran!"_

_"Hey! Stop!" called the other Auror, who must have felt like an idiot._

_Gabriel gripped my hand tighter and we broke out in a run. The Aurors were still yelling behind us and red jets of Stunning spells flew over our shoulders. Gabriel pulled me down another alley and we ran into a few trashcans against the wall._

_"Come on," Gabriel said pulling me close against him. I knew he was going to Apparate so I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the unsettling feeling that Apparation brought upon the body._

_"Oh, no you don't!"_

_I turned my head to the voice as a body tackled Gabriel and me to the ground. The Auror was lying on top of me, squishing me against Gabriel's body. He gave me a sharp look and I tucked my head down into his chest as he punched the Auror on top of me. The Auror fell back and I jumped off of Gabriel, turning and kicking the Auror's wand out of his hand. His partner turned the corner to the alley and I lifted my wand disarming him with a silent spell. The Auror was caught off guard and froze on sight because he was wandless. I realized then that Aurors should be trained as I had been—like Death Eaters were—for hand to hand combat; because by the look in the Auror's eye before me he thought he was going to die._

_"Don't move," I said sharply, holding my wand out with an intense stare. "I don't want to hurt you."_

_Gabriel was getting to his feet beside me. He picked up the Aurors' wands and cracked them in two. He wrapped his arm around me to Apparate, but before he could the Auror on the ground before us threw a small silver bottle at us. It hit the ground at our feet and shattered releasing a cloud of silver smoke. The smoke swirled and reached our noses, entering our bodies._

_"Gabriel," I sighed as my body took to the potion faster then his. It was some kind of sleeping potion. I fell forward and Gabriel caught me as silver clouds danced before my eyes and blocked my vision. It was only a matter of seconds before I fell into a deep sleep, and all was black._

_When I woke up, to my horror, I was in a cold dank brick cell. There was water dripping somewhere in the distances, and straw on the floor in the corners of the room. There was a horrible stench of feces, urine, and mold. I put my hand to my mouth and stood up in the cell. There was a door on the opposite side of the room, with a barred window on it. I went to it and looked out with great shock at the hall outside my cell. It was just as dark as my cell, and it appeared to be lined with other doors just like mine. I moved away from the door and looked around the cell._

_"Gabriel?" I asked. I wasn't sure if I was alone or not. I moved around the cell to find out if there was anyone else in it with me and nearly tripped over someone's body. I caught myself on the wall and followed it down to the floor, where I touched a man's stomach. "Gabriel?"_

_I shook him and sighed with frustration. I looked to the far corner of the room and lit a fire on the straw on the floor. The fire glowed brightly in the room and sent light around it, casting my shadow on Gabriel who I was leaning over. I knelt down next to him and lifted his chin. He was still out cold._

_"Wake up," I hissed shaking him again. He didn't move. I sighed and sat back on the floor as a chill came over my body. I stood up and went back to the door. The bars on the window were being glazed over with frost. I took a step back in shock as I watched the bricks of the room also crystallize with ice. A rush of cold air covered my body. I felt like icy nails were being pressed into me at every point on my body. I wrapped my arms around me and leaned against the door looking out at the hall._

_Darkness seemed to cloud my mind, I could remember all the fear and lonesome I felt my whole life. A hole was in my heart as guilt filled me from any attraction I had to Gabriel and how badly I had hurt Sirius—and he didn't even know. The sadness of my Mother's death, and then the betrayal of her loyalties crept into my emotions and I had no idea where it was coming from._

_The fire in the corner of the cell went out as a shadow appeared before my door. I took a few steps back, and the door opened. A hooded ghost like creature hovered in the threshold, looking at me with no face. It floated back and the Minister of Magic entered my cell. She looked grimmer then usual, but her beauty still remained. I imagined the grim appearance was because of this place we were both in._

_"Minister!" I said with surprise._

_"Cadence," she whispered. "I'm so sorry this is where we meet again."_

_"Where are we?"_

_"Azkaban prison," the Minister said looking at me like I was stupid. "Is Gabriel awake yet?"_

_"No," I shook my head. "What is going on?"_

_"You were arrested," she whispered. She went to the door. "Thank you, that is all." She was speaking to the ghost like creature. I realized that it must be a Dementor, because I was in Azkaban. I shuttered as the thing drifted away and warmth seemed to fill my body again._

_"What is going on?" I asked._

_"Like I said, Cadence," she said coming farther into the cell. "You and Gabriel were arrested in the alley in London. Unfortunately even your loyalties with me cannot save you from the justice system."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You face trial," she whispered softly._

_I looked at her dark eyes and sighed. "What am I on trail for?"_

_"Being a Death Eater."_

_"Well that's ridiculous," I whispered. "I haven't done anything to harm anyone—and they have no evidence."_

_The Minister nodded. "Dumbledore and I aren't worried about you. Rather, we think that the trail may help your reputation. When you are proven innocent you'll be able to come and work for me at the Ministry like I want you to."_

_I was shocked by what she said. It was only a few hours ago I was speaking to Gabriel about trying to fix my reputation with the magical world, and this seemed to be the best way—it had landed in my lap._

_"Why do you look so worried then?" I asked. "If you think a trial will go well for me?"_

_"I don't think Gabriel's trial will go as well," the Minister said stepping towards Gabriel. I relit my fire in the corner and let the flame's light decorate him. The Minister looked at Gabriel's sleeping body with sadness in her eyes. "After all, he was a Death Eater."_

_"But he isn't one anymore," I said quickly coming forward._

_"I know that," the Minister said looking at me. "But unfortunately Gabriel was involved with many dark things, and there are witness who have already been collected to testify against him."_

_"What?" I said in shock. "No, no…I'll testify for him…"_

"…_It's fine Gabriel," Millicent said forcing a smile at me. "Cadence, I want you to start working next week in the Auror department. Rufus Scrimgeour is the head of the department, he'll be your main supervisor." _

"_So, I go to him for my work and if I have any problems?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest. I wasn't really sure what she was expecting me to do as an Auror. There was also an unsettling feeling in my stomach because she wasn't making me go through the Auror program at all. I knew it was a long and vigorous training program that ended with an exam. If you passed the exam you became an Auror, if you didn't you started over again. _

_Gabriel had been pushing me for the last few months to keep exercising my powers and practicing numerous spells. He had also made a point of stopping by Hogwarts to give me personal dueling lessons—wand dueling was never something he had taught me. It bothered me that Gabriel and I had gone through so much work, and for what? It made me nervous the way Minister Bagnold just gave me things and put me in positions of power when I didn't work for them, or in my opinion, deserve them. _

_Stop it, said Gabriel's voice. You do deserve it. I turned and looked at him to see his dark velvet eyes glaring at me. It was then that I realized he had connected to me using Legilimency. I didn't realize that we could communicate that way. I smiled a little and turned my attention back to the Minister. _

"_No," the Minister said. "You won't go to Rufus directly—if there is something to be done he'll come to you." _

"_Then who do I go to?" I asked with confusion. _

"_Your partner." _

"_Great," I hissed. "Dare I ask who that is?" _

"_Gabriel," Millicent said point to Gabriel with her hand. She gave me a soft smile and picked up a pen, beginning to write on some papers before her. _

"_What?" Gabriel and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and then back at the Minister. _

"_You didn't say you were going to stick her with me," he said quickly. "I refuse." _

_I looked at him with surprise. As much as I didn't want Gabriel for a partner I was hurt that he would refuse the position. _

"_You're not being given the choice, Mr. Quintin," said Millicent harshly…._

…_."Is that what you had to tell Sirius?" _

_I nodded. "I have nothing to tell him now." _

"_The child may be fine," he whispered. I opened my eyes and he moaned in pain, stopping in his tracks and nearly falling over. I frowned, I had broken concentration. I forced his blood back into his body again and he took a long breath and then continued to walk. _

_Nothing else was said the rest of the walk back. It felt like it took forever to get there and finally when we did neither of us had enough strength to ring the bell. Gabriel leaned against the threshold and I kicked the door with my foot. It took a few moments before someone answered and I was surprised to hear Sirius's voice. _

"_Who is it?" _

"_Gabriel and Cadence," said Gabriel's voice. He was more put together then I was as the pain in my torso began to consume me. "Sirius, we're hurt. We were attacked." _

"_What is my daughter's name?" Braven's voice came through the door. _

"_Haiden," whispered Gabriel close to the door. He took a sharp breath and leaned against the threshold. _

"_Cadence," Braven was going to say something but I cut him off. _

"_I have nothing to tell him, Braven," I snapped and tears filled my eyes. "I have nothing to tell him now." _

_The door opened instantly and I knew then that Braven knew I was going to lose the child. He looked at me with wide eyes as Gabriel carried me in and down the hall to the kitchen. He placed me on the cleared off counter and stepped back, leaning against it and holding his stomach. _

"_I can't hold it much longer," I sighed looking at him. He was only looking at me. _

_Sirius came to me and looked me in the eye, holding my face with concern. Braven went to Gabriel and lifted his shirt and cloak, looking at the stab wound. _

"_If I can control things, and conjure them, why can't I conjure you body to heal?" _

"_Do you know where the cells and muscle and skin go?" Gabriel asked. _

_Braven shrugged and held his hand over Gabriel's wound, closing his eyes. Gabriel yelled in pain and leaned back against the counter more and Braven grabbed onto his torso, forcing him to heal. I stared in amazement as Braven healed Gabriel. I had never heard of anything like that in the magical world. Gabriel collapsed to the ground and looked up at Braven with wonder. _

"_You are powerful," he said. _

_Braven beamed and held out his hand, Gabriel took it stood up. Braven clapped Gabriel's shoulder and beamed. _

"_Why'd he have to carry you in?" Sirius asked. _

"_We need to get her to St. Mungo's," said Gabriel coming forward. "She had broken ribs and some internal bleeding I think." _

"_What happened?" _

"_They beat the shit out of her, Sirius," snapped Gabriel starting to cradle me. _

"_Gabriel," I sighed. _

"_She needs to go now," said Braven. _

_We all looked at him and he motioned to the counter under my thighs where blood was starting to pool. I frowned. That was incredibly embarrassing and I knew it looked like I was violated in an act of violence and I saw the fear in Sirius's eyes as he moved to the closet and pulled out a cloak. As Gabriel picked me up, Sirius wrapped me in it, and then all three men moved to the front of the house with me. I was surprised that Sirius said nothing about Gabriel carrying me, but perhaps he knew now wasn't the time to fight. Braven and Sirius pulled on cloaks and Sirius looked at Gabriel very seriously. _

"_I'll get her there fine," he whispered quickly. "Don't worry Sirius. Take Braven, he doesn't know where he's going." _

_Sirius looked like he was about to say something, but he didn't. He took hold of Braven's arm and they Disapparated from the house. _

"_You don't want him to know?" _

"_No," I whispered resting my head on Gabriel's chest. _

"_I'm sorry, Cadence," he whispered. "I'm sorry—you should have told me. I wouldn't have let anything happen to you." _

"_If I had known something like this was going to happen I would have told you," I said. "I'm more concerned about how my Father knew I was pregnant. Only Braven knew." _

_Gabriel nodded his head. "Let's get you to the hospital and then we'll worry about that…." _

_"…Sirius?" I called going to the steps. No one answered from upstairs. I sighed and rushed up the stairs wondering if he was still in bed maybe. I opened the bedroom door and saw that he was still lying in bed. He sat up as I entered the room and looked at me with raised eyebrows._

_"What's the matter?" he asked._

_I sunk onto the bed and embraced him tightly._

_"Everything okay?" Gabriel asked coming into the room behind me._

_"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked rudely. I pulled away from Sirius and moved to Gabriel._

_"No one in the house?"_

_Gabriel shook his head with frustration. "No, he must be going to pick up Haiden."_

_"Sirius," I turned back to the bed. "Did Braven say if he was going anywhere?"_

_"No," said Sirius shaking his head. "I haven't left the room this morning."_

_"Did you hear him leave?" Gabriel asked in an aggressive voice, which Sirius did not appreciate. He got out of the bed, in his pajama pants and gave Gabriel a very nasty glare._

_"See here, Gabriel," said Sirius harshly. "This is my house and I will not have you speaking to me that way."_

_"Sirius, I don't give a damn if this was the Queen's house, I'd still talk to you this way—"_

_"Enough!" I yelled over the both of them. The room shook violently causing pictures, books, and lamps to fall over. They shattered on the ground and I waved my hand at them, repairing the broken items instantly._

_"Sorry," muttered Sirius to me._

_"You should have better control over your emotions," Gabriel's words were harsh._

_"Gabriel," I snapped. "This is me controlling my emotions, if I stop controlling them you're going to disintegrate into a million little pieces of dust."_

_Gabriel grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm going to go to Dumbledore. He'd know where Haiden was being dropped if her transfer to the country was approved."_

_"Well I'm going with you," I snapped as Gabriel marched out of the room…._

…_"I'd like to stay with you here," Gabriel smirked._

_I made to punch him but he grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm behind my back, about to pin me to the wall. I popped my shoulder out of place, catching him off guard and he released me. I turned and kneed him in the stomach, then elbowed him over the head. He fell to his knees and I pushed him back against the stairs, pinning him down._

_"Don't play games with me, Gabriel," I said._

_"Do you want me to set your shoulder?" he asked gently, still smiling._

_"I can do it myself," I said moving away. I threw my shoulder against the wall and it popped back into place. I sighed and rubbed it, remaining in the hall really angry with Gabriel. He came up behind me and touched my shoulders._

_"I'm sorry," he whispered in my ear._

_He was close to my neck and I could feel his breath on my skin. It sent shivers through my body and for a few moments I forgot myself. I imagined us pressed together, arms holding the other's body and kissing like we truly loved each other. I blinked and the image was gone. I stood up straight and pulled my body away from Gabriel's._

_"Why do you tempt me?" I whispered shaking my head and walking down to the kitchen._

_"I don't mean to," he said following me. "I give into temptation myself when I don't mean to."_

_I nodded, not looking at him._

_"I'm sorry, Cadence," he said close to me. "I never want to hurt you. I just wish…"_

_He stopped and I turned to him. "What?" I asked looking up at him. "What do you wish?"_

_"Nothing," he shook his head. "If you're going to come out with me you need to put some black clothes on."_

_He had changed the subject again. He always did when it came to his feelings for me, and perhaps that was fair. I wouldn't admit it out loud but part of me wanted to hear him say that he wanted me, and yet the other part didn't want to hear it. If he said what I knew he wanted to say then there really would be conflicted—because I'd be torn. I'd have to make a choice…or had I already made my choice by being with Sirius?_

_"Cadence," he whispered. "I don't want to make you choose between me and the man you love. You belong with Sirius because you love him and he loves you. Why would you leave that? Even if I could love you better then Sirius, you wouldn't love me…it's not worth it then. You belong with whoever you wish and I want you happy. That's all that matters. I'll wait for you on the porch…."_

_"…Take her to see Mr. Quintin," said Voldemort. "Then bring her to the bedroom. She'll stay there."_

_My hands were grasped by the Death Eater and he led me down the hall. I counted the steps it took._

_"Steps," the Death Eater said in a scratchy male voice. We began to walk down the steps. At the bottom we turned left and walked twelve steps, where we stopped. The Death Eater opened a door, by the sounds of it. "Steps," he said again, and we descended into what I imagine was a basement._

_The air was much cooler at the bottom of the second set of stairs and to my surprise the Death Eater didn't remove the bag on my head. He led me thirteen steps to the left and opened another door. We went down half a set of steps and he opened a door at the bottom, shoving me into the room. A door slammed behind me and I didn't move at first. I pulled the bag off my head and looked around._

_I was in a cellar, which didn't surprise me. There were wine bottles lining one of the walls and a few barrels in the corner of the cellar. I moved forward and saw Gabriel lying on the ground in a corner. The smell of feces and urine reached my nose and I covered my face with the bag so not to throw up._

_"Gabriel?" I said approaching him._

_He looked up at me and moved instantly. "Cadence."_

_His voice was dry, and as he moved to stand I realized how frail he was. I wondered if they had fed him at all while he was down here—they must have, otherwise he wouldn't be healthy enough to torture. His hair was longer, and he had a lot of facial hair. He was still tall and lean to my surprise, but thinner. I threw my body into his arms and he clung to me, kissing my head instantly._

_He took a step back and looked at me. His eyes were still sea-foam green. I touched his cheek and kissed his forehead._

_"I've been so worried," he whispered stroking my hair. "I had no idea…what did they do to you? Are you alright?"_

_"I'm fine," I whispered embracing him again. "Don't worry about me. They're taking care of me."_

_"You're thinner," he said interrupting me._

_"I'm fine," I stressed. "They're torturing you to break me. Voldemort comes to eat a meal with me everyday and asks me if I'll join him. They're using you to break me."_

_"I won't break," he shook his head._

_"I won't break either," I smiled lightly. "I don't even know how long we've been here."_

_"Fifteen days," he said touching my cheeks and kissing my forehead again. "I've been keeping track on the wall."_

_"Have they fed you?"_

_"A few times," he nodded. "I'm fine."_

_"How long do they torture you? Do they do it at the same time everyday?"_

_"No," he shook his head. "They use different methods. I'm surprised they haven't killed me yet."_

_"I told them if you were dead I'd kill myself."_

_"Don't say that," he shook his head. "You don't need me that badly."_

_"Gabriel," I put my hands on his cheeks and looked at him very seriously. "I'm not leaving here with out you alive. If you die…I don't know what I'll do…"_

_"You'll avenge my death and kill your Father," he said smartly. "You don't need me as much as you think you do."_

_"Gabriel," I said his name again not really sure why I said it. He touched my cheek and his fingers glided over my lips._

_"Why do we always get caught in these situations?"_

_I smiled slightly. "I would have thought you'd stop hanging around me by now because of it."_

_"Never," he said smiling. "You'd never get out of these messes if I left."_

_I nodded. "You're right."_

_"They'll come for you," he whispered close to my ear. He was holding me tight against him. "I know Sirius and Dumbledore will come for you."_

_"I'm not leaving here with out you," I told him again, pulling out of his arms and looking him in the eye. "You're my partner, I'm not leaving you behind."_

_"Promise me one thing," he said sternly._

_I blinked at him and nodded. "Anything."_

_"If it comes down to it," he whispered. "And it's my life or yours, you'll let me go."_

_"I can't promise that," I shook my head._

_"No," he said sternly. "You have to promise me."_

_"That's not going to happen. I'm not promising that."_

_"You said anything," he scolded._

_"Well I lied."_

_He leaned forward and kissed me full on the mouth, catching me off guard. His hands rubbed my back as he pulled me tight against him and continued to kiss me deeply, passionately. I melted in his arms and held onto him tightly, not sure why I was letting him kiss me…maybe it was because I was afraid we were both going to die, and this would be the only chance we ever got to be in each others arms…_

_"Promise me," he whispered pressing his forehead against mine. "That you'll let me go…"_

_"….I'm leaving to clear my head because a lot has happened these last couple of months," he said stroking his hand through his hair. "I just need a few weeks time to let everything sink in. I've lost a lot and I'm not sure why I'm fighting anymore…so I need to straighten some things out and I wish you'd let me take that time and respect that."_

_I nodded. "I respect it. But if I die while you're gone, I'm going to haunt you for the rest of your miserable life, and trust me I'll make it miserable."_

_"You already do," he said with a smile._

_I knew that despite his joking tone he meant every word. I did make his life miserable because I was with another man…but I couldn't help that I loved Sirius more then I loved Gabriel. I sighed and turned to look at the sunny hills again. I didn't want to think about how complicated Gabriel and my relationship was, because despite loving me he never stopped my actions towards him…I never felt like I was leading him on, and he never accused me of doing so. He just accepted the situation as it was and we lived…I guess that's all that matters._

_"You know I'll come for you if you ever need me," he said. "Just call for me."_

_I nodded as he leaned against me, wrapping his arms around me. "I'll always come for you."_

_His voice was so low and husky it made my heart break. I kissed his arm and leaned on him for a few moments before breaking away. He helped me stand up and handed me my crutches…._

…_.."You'll listen to his advice," said Gabriel looking at me very seriously. "You won't listen to mine anymore."_

_"You haven't given me the chance to listen because you left. You've been gone for almost two years now…I wonder why I wouldn't listen to you," I said harshly. Gabriel ignored the cut at him and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at me from the corner of his eye._

_"Aren't you freezing?" he asked looking at the baggy sweater I was wearing. I had crossed my arms over my chest and tucked my hands between my arms and breast to keep them warm. I don't know why I had left with out my cloak. Maybe I was too caught up in my thoughts. I hadn't even felt the cold until Gabriel asked me if I was cold. I didn't answer him. He stood up off the bench and pulled off his thick winter cloak. I made to speak, objecting but he put his finger to my lips hushing me._

_"Don't," he said wrapping the cloak around me. He leaned down and kissed my forehead then took a seat next to me. I could only stare at him as I pulled the cloak around me. Why was it that when Gabriel was around I could feel again?_

_"I know you don't understand why I left, Cadence, but you said you respected it."_

_"I respected it because I believed you were going to come back," I said. "It's been two years, Gabriel! James and Lily are having a baby! Voldemort is still growing stronger, there is more chaos now then ever before, and you are hiding from it!"_

_"You're acting like I've been sitting on a beach in Italy tanning all this time."_

_"You do look more tan," I snapped with frustration._

_It was true too. He was darker skinned. His hair was shorter but he kept that five o'clock shadow that made him look dark and mysterious. His eyes were deep, despite not changing color, and showed some sign of life. His frame and body were well defined and sexy. I'm not going to lie…he looked as good as he did when I had first met him. I honestly thought that Gabriel would never grow old or look bad. He looked good when he looked bad…that said a lot._

_Gabriel caught me off guard when he took my chin and leaned forward, kissing me square on the mouth. It was a passionate, meaningful kiss that I couldn't pull out of despite everything inside of me screaming to do so._

_He pulled away slowly and planted smaller kisses on my lips. Why did he do this to me? And why was I so weak to him? Why didn't I punch him in the face because I had a boyfriend, who I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with? Why?_

_"I never meant to make you feel abandoned," he whispered kissing my ear softly. I was crying and I didn't even know when the tears had started to fall. I pulled farther away from him, moving down the bench a little…. _

_"…How am I supposed to trust you?" I questioned with a glare. I crossed my arms over my chest and continued to raise my eyebrows at him._

_Gabriel came to me, took my hands and held them against his heart. He reached out slowly and touched my chest, between my breast. "You know you can trust me. You know, here in your heart, that I would never betray you."_

_I looked at him with sad eyes. It frightened me that he knew me so well…that he could touch me and I would believe anything he said. He held some kind of power over me and that made me even more nervous. It was suddenly very clear why my Father wanted Gabriel as a spy. My Father was right, I trusted Gabriel immensely and would never suspect him to go back to Voldemort. But Gabriel was mistaken that I could trust him, I would have trusted him more if he had come to me to begin with and told me what was going on. Now, I didn't know what else he was keeping from me._

_Gabriel could see in my eyes that I wasn't convinced._

_"How can I make you see that I have not betrayed you?"_

_"You have," I said softly to Gabriel. "Even if you are not feeding him information, you have betrayed me by not telling me."_

_"It was not your concern," he said quickly, breaking away from me with frustration. He threw his hands over his head and rubbed them through his hair as he turned away. "Why can't you see that I was protecting you?"_

_"From what?" I questioned. "My Father? I hate to break it to you Gabriel, I will never be safe from him, and nothing you do will protect me from him."_

_"I know that," he yelled. "Just like nothing I do will make you let me love you!"_

_I was caught off guard by his comment and stood back. This is what we were arguing about? How I was choosing Sirius over Gabriel and wouldn't let Gabriel love me? He had returned to my Father and was risking his life by feeding Voldemort fake information because I wouldn't let him love me?_

_I was staring at him like he was crazy. Gabriel had never let his emotions get the best of him like they just had. He was always very composed and understanding of our relationship. I don't think he had ever actually told me he loved me…and for him to say that word made my stomach turn. I realized very quickly that this was a horrible mess that I had gotten myself into…and it was the last thing I needed when Voldemort was running around trying to take over England._

_"I know you don't need protection Cadence," he said staring at me with sad dark green eyes. "I know you can take care of yourself."_

_And just like that he turned off his emotional faucet. The flood gates were back up, and Gabriel Quintin was not going to share his true feelings about me. He had realized his mistake and now he was trying to control himself. I couldn't say anything. I was still too shocked and I just stood there. The tension between us had grown since earlier that day, when he had checked on me in the bathroom. He knew about the fantasy I had on the staircase…he knew that I wanted him…I knew that he loved me and that I would always love him…_

_I went to him, and touched his cheeks, not even sure I knew what I was doing._

_"Don't do something you're going to regret," he said to me as he stroked my cheek and looked into my eyes._

_"I already have," I whispered not turning my eyes away from his. He leaned down and kissed me full on the mouth. His arms engulfed me and I could do nothing but kiss him in return. I wanted it, him, every touch and caress. I wanted everything that he could offer._

_It was a deep fiery kiss that only he could provide. No other man kissed me like Gabriel did. I wasn't sure if it was his lust for me, his passion, or his undying love that made those kisses so magnificence. I only knew that he was better then even Sirius. I pulled away slowly and Gabriel's lips fell down to my neck where he kissed me ever so sweetly. I moaned slightly as Gabriel's fingers pushed up my shirt smoothly. I took his hand and squeezed it, pulling away slowly with small tears in my eyes._

_I was scaring myself with how the scene playing out in the graveyard was like my fantasy on the staircase earlier that day._

_Gabriel kissed my finger tips and looked me in the eye. I saw desperation in his eyes, he wanted me to be his so badly, and I felt my heart break. How could I stand here and break him, when he did everything for me? How could I stay with Sirius when Gabriel so clearly loved me better? It was a question that I would never stop asking myself._

_Despite the desperation, I could see him reading me like an open book. He knew that I was still going to pick Sirius over him. He touched my cheek and sighed, pressing his forehead against mine._

_"I love you," he whispered to me. "I will never betray you because I love you, Cadence. You are all I have and I won't lose you, to anything."_

_I sighed and wiped the tears off my cheeks quickly. Hearing him say it made it even more difficult to bear. He touched my cheeks and gave me a small smile._

_"I know you won't say it back," he said._

_"I love you," I said gripping his wet shirt and clinging to him like a small child. I don't know why I said it. To prove him wrong probably, but that didn't mean I meant it any less. "But, Gabriel…you have to understand."_

_He nodded and pulled me tightly against him. "I do. I know how you feel…trust me Cadence, you were the last woman I wanted to fall in love with."_

_I smiled and pulled away. "This stays in this graveyard, Gabriel…."_

_"….That is exactly what Voldemort wants," said Alessandro. "He wants her to snap. Dumbledore hasn't been open with how powerful Cadence really is. He is confining her and if it continues she will be lost forever."_

_"I have no control over that," Gabriel said. "I'm following Dumbledore's order."_

_"When did you stop being loyal to me?" I asked stepping forward into the kitchen where they could see me. Both men looked at me with surprise. "When did you decide that it was better to be loyal to Dumbledore then to me? Gabriel, if Dumbledore has been keeping things from me I would have you tell me because you once swore to my Father that you were loyal to me and no one else."_

_"Cadence," Gabriel said softly. I could see that he was whispering because if he did not he would yell. He came to me and touched my cheek and I felt tears in my eyes. How could he possibly look at me with such love when he was hurting me so badly? "I am only trying to protect you."_

_"Then tell me what Dumbledore is keeping from me? What am I not being told?" I questioned. "What has changed in the last nine months that keeps me here, you at Hogwarts, and James and Sirius on missions?"_

_"Things aren't so black and white, Cadence," Gabriel said. "While Dumbledore is fighting for good, it does not mean that how he does things is good. He kept information from you because he thought it was best for your safety."_

_"It's funny that everyone seems to be deciding what is safe for me," I snipped pulling away from him. "And if you are so keen on keeping me safe why aren't you here, with me? You didn't tell me you were working for my Father again in attempts to keep me safe, look at how great that turned out!"_

_"That night, when I told you I was working for your Father again," Gabriel said harshly. "I went to your Father's side, and he told me to bring you to him. Because he knew, Cadence. He knows that I betrayed him."_

_"Gabriel," I sighed rubbing my face and not looking at him._

_"I can't protect you anymore," he said harshly. "I trusted Dumbledore's decision for you to remain here under Alessandro's watch so you would be safe. If I could protect you it would be different—"_

_"I DON'T NEED YOUR PROTECTION!" I yelled viciously. The walls around us shook, and pictures that had been hanging on the walls fell off. The cabinets in the kitchen swung open and dishes fell out of them, shattering everywhere. Alessandro came forward and took my arm, pulling me back from Gabriel._

_"Cadence," he whispered in my ear as he held my back to his chest. "Cadence, control it."_

_I was sobbing at his point. "I want out! I'm leaving! I can't trust any of you! I'm better off on my own, with out your stupid rules and garbage."_

_I pulled out of Alessandro's arms and marched out of the kitchen, heading upstairs._

_"Where are you going?" Gabriel yelled at me._

_I slammed the bedroom door and began to pace in the bedroom, fuming with anger. The room around me was shaking. I was shocked when there was a knock on the bedroom door and it opened. Gabriel walked in slowly and shut the door._

_"I'm sorry," he said instantly._

_I didn't say anything and continued to pace, not looking at Gabriel. I was furious with him and everything around me. I didn't like being controlled, and at the same time I didn't want to be angry at Gabriel. I wanted him to make it all better._

_"I can't stay here," I said. "Not if I'm going to be controlled and left in the dark."_

_"Cadence," Gabriel came to me and took my face in his hands. "I've never forgiven myself for being away from you. I know you don't need my protection, but I want to protect you."_

_He kissed me on the lips, just as passionately as he did the last time we kissed. Despite how badly I wanted to kiss him and be in his arms, I pulled away and slapped him._

_"Don't you dare try to charm me like that," I hissed. "I am not stupid, Gabriel. If you give a damn about me at all you would have told me what Dumbledore is keeping from me."_

_Gabriel looked broken, standing there before me. I couldn't believe it. I only saw him like that once before—when Anita and Jennifer died. I frowned and turned away, brushing my hair out of my face. I couldn't handle him looking like that…as if I had just destroyed his whole world. Well maybe he shouldn't have kept things from me. I was a bitter, scornful woman. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at the bed. Sirius and I had made love there last week. If Gabriel knew that it'd drive him mad._

_"Your powers can kill you," said Gabriel with some hesitation. "Dumbledore isn't sure how. That's why he wants you here, where you're safe and not using your powers at all. He doesn't know what will cause you to…destroy yourself…" His voice faded and I looked at him with raised eyebrows._

_"That's the big secret," I said with some disbelief while staring him down. "Gabriel, why wouldn't you tell me this?"_

_"Dumbledore didn't wish me to."_

_"Since when you do you listen to him?" I snapped. Gabriel didn't answer which only annoyed me more. I turned away from him and paced back and forth, putting my finger to my lips and thinking._

_"I think Alessandro is right," I whispered. "Being cooped up here is what's going to make me destroy myself. Why wouldn't Dumbledore see that? I still can't believe he didn't tell me! You would think he'd have the descents to tell me when something is going to harm me."_

_"He didn't think it was your concern."_

_I glared at Gabriel._

_"What did you think?"_

_"That there are more pressing issues at this time," he said coolly._

_"You are impossible to read," I said calmly. "Do you give a damn about me, or do you just give a damn about the possible fuck you'd get from me?"_

_I was being ruthless, but rather I be ruthless with my words then lose control of my anger and destroy things. I could have destroyed Gabriel with a blink of my eye; I only had to wish him to be dead. I could disconnect his veins from his heart, cut off the flow of oxygen to his brain. I could do it…if I really wanted to._

_"Don't threaten me," he said viciously in return. I hadn't blocked him from my mind, so he read my horrible thoughts easily. "You may be more powerful but you don't know how to control your powers enough to kill me. You never had it in you…and if you did…well you're not the Cadence I know then…"_

_"…When I met Divinity a year ago, she revealed to me that I am more then just a wizard. I have a greater purpose in the great design," Gabriel said very carefully. He knew that I was going to think all of this was crazy. "Some wizards and witches believe that there are certain people of our kind who are specifically meant to guide strong young witches or wizards. They are brought here to this world for that reason alone, and once they have guided those that they are meant to, their destiny has been fulfilled and they die."_

_Gabriel was pacing around the office, not looking at me, but the ground. He was rubbing his hand through his hair. As he spoke, he sounded as if he only half believed the story he was telling me. I wasn't sure if I believed a damned word coming out of his mouth simply because I didn't know what I could trust anymore…_

_"Divinity, and your Father apparently, believe that I am one of these guardians," said Gabriel pausing and looking at me for only a brief moment. I could only stare at him. Sometimes, I really felt like he was making this crap up as he went along. I had heard so many of his stories, so many excuses and explanations for everything…the fact of the matter was that there were some things that couldn't be explained and I was tried of Gabriel always having an answer._

_He sighed with frustration and turned away from me. He knew just by looking at me that I didn't believe him._

_"It doesn't matter if I believe your story or not!" I yelled suddenly. We had been reading each others thoughts with Legilimency, and the silent argument was driving me nuts. "How do you expect me to ever trust you!"_

_He stopped pacing and looked at me sharply, as if I had just offended his honor—I didn't care if I was offending his honor, he had offended it himself when he lied to me. I jumped out of my chair and smacked him across the face._

_"You're supposed to love me," I sighed with small tears in my eyes. I was completely exhausted by him. I did not even want to hear his story this time because I was tired of it all. I was tired of the lies._

_"I imagine Sirius would feel the same as you do now if he knew how much I loved you," Gabriel spat back at me. "Especially if you told him how you love me."_

_I smacked him again and he let me, which was something Gabriel never did. He either wanted to be hit because he felt he deserved it or he let me hit him because he knew I had to get frustration out. Or perhaps he was letting me retaliate for the physical abuse he had caused me a week and a half ago._

_"You are the only one I have been loyal to," Gabriel said wish desperation. Gabriel was anything but a desperate man, and when he looked at me with that darkness in his eyes, I knew I had broken him. I had destroyed everything that gave him strength…and I was kicking him while he was down. "I am loyal to you because I love you—I would rather not! How do you think it feels to be completely devoted to someone who is not devoted to you…who teases you like she actually does love you, but every night goes back to her boyfriend? I wish I could wash my hands of you, but I have lost everything and you are all that is left. You!"_

_"You said it yourself," I retorted. "Sirius would have fought for me—"_

_"And yet, I am always the one saving you," he said, interrupting me…._

_"…I don't ask you to love me, Cadence. I ask you to follow your own heart," he said. "And choose a side. Choose me or Sirius, do not play us both. I will always love you, no matter what….no matter who you stay with. Divinity didn't see you in my future, but she often reminded me that futures change because of the choices we make."_

_I sighed, trying very hard not to think about what he was asking me to. "She said that you were meant to die with her. When she was no longer your student, your destiny would have been fulfilled…and you would die."_

_"I think we both know that isn't going to happen for a long time now," he said cupping my cheek. I closed my eyes as a small tear leaked down my cheek. Gabriel leaned forward and kissed it delicately._

_"Gabriel," I moaned as he moved to kiss my lips. He kissed me softly, as if he knew it would be our last kiss. Never would we share such intimacy again. "You have exhausted me, and I can't…I can't love you anymore. It hurts me to love you, and it hurts you. I can't do it. I won't do it."_

_Gabriel stood up straight and nodded. "Then this is really the last time…" His voice faded off and I grabbed his hand, clinging to him. He pushed me away slowly and brushed his finger tips against my cheek._

_"I forgive you," I sighed. "I will always forgive you."_

_He smiled slightly. "I will remain your Guardian. You're all I have left."_

_Whenever he said that I knew he meant that he loved me…he just didn't want to say it. I sighed and nodded my head. So this is how it was going to be…we were going to secretly love each other, and we were even going to keep it secrets from ourselves. That's how it used to be, years ago, and perhaps that was the best way for it. Gabriel would always be with me because, now as I understood it, he was my Guardian and that was his purpose. He would remain with me because I was constantly his student and constantly needed to be taught by him. I realized as we left Hogwarts that he had to be loyal to me—it was in his nature. And I had to trust him, despite how much I didn't want to…._

…"_You didn't tell me Sirius left you," he whispered sitting down next to me. _

_ I didn't look at Gabriel as he sat next to me. I wasn't sure if I could look at him. When he said Sirius' name my heart stopped for a moment and I felt it break. I put my head in my hands and sighed loudly. _

_ "I came to tell you the other night when you were with Ondrea," I whispered. "I didn't want to bother you." _

_ Gabriel lifted my chin from my hands and made me look at him. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I truly am." _

_ I shrugged and stood up off the bed. "He's just upset that I said no to marrying him." _

_ "Why?" _

_ "I'm not ready," I said looking at the mirror that hung on the back of the bedroom door. I looked pale and thin, no doubt because I had slept for five days straight. "I don't want to be married right now. If Sirius and I love each other, live together, and have been together for…five years now, I think it is…well, why does it matter if we put rings on and vow our love for each other? Is that any different then what we were doing already?" _

_ "Yes," Gabriel said standing up. "It is significantly different. If you were to get married it'd justify your relationship, your love. It'd solidify it for Sirius. He's afraid you're going to leave him any day…and now that you've said no to marrying him, well he's afraid that you don't love him after all and it's all been a lie." _

_ I sighed as I looked at Gabriel in the mirror. "It hasn't been and he shouldn't expect me to marry him just because he's afraid that our love is a lie. He should trust me." _

_ "Should he?" Gabriel asked as he approached me. _

_ I turned to him, glaring viciously. I did not like where this conversation was going at all. I took a long breath to try and relax so that I didn't over-react and destroy half the house, or Gabriel. _

_ "If I were Sirius, Cadence, I would have left you a long time ago," he said honestly. "Because the way we act…well…even though nothing has happened…" _

_ I smacked him clean across the face. "Don't you dare imply that I am a whore. In some ways you are Sirius, Gabriel. You haven't stopped loving me yet so don't you dare say you'd leave me if you were in his shoes." _

_ Gabriel grabbed my hand and held it firmly, glaring at me. _

_ "We both know that it doesn't matter how hard I try to stop loving you, it won't make a difference," he said sternly. "You can't use that against me." _

_ "It's not like we took a love potion, Gabriel," I responded. "You could stop anytime you wanted." _

_ "Why haven't you stopped then?" he asked still glaring. I loved the aggressive tone in his voice; it sent shivers through my body and made my knees give a little. I held my ground, however, trying very hard not to let Gabriel seduce me. His husky voice was enough to get any girl's panties off, let alone mine. _

_ I pulled my hand from his and turned away. "Because," I whispered as I watched him in the mirror. "I don't want to stop, despite how much it hurts." _

_ Gabriel came up behind me and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, holding me against his chest. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed softly as tears welled up in my eyes. _

_ "I don't know how to live," I whispered. "Without Sirius…I don't know…" _

_ Gabriel kissed my neck and rested his head on mine, holding me close and trying to comfort me. He rubbed his hands up and down my arms, with the intention of soothing me, but really he was only making everything more complicated. I turned and faced him, laying my head on his chest as I began to sob. _

_ "I feel like such an idiot," I cried; I don't know where it had all come from. I hadn't cried about Sirius leaving me since it happened almost three weeks ago now. Perhaps the stress of being stabbed, almost dying, and Sirius not coming to my bedside just pushed me to my limits. "Why can't I marry him? But he knew I didn't want to be married…he knew that. Why couldn't he respect that?" _

_ "I find that when two people have two different plans things don't usually work out," Gabriel said softly as he stroked my hair. _

_ "But how did it work for so long then?" _

_ "How long has it really been working, Cadence?" Gabriel asked. "How long have you been completely in love with him? How long have you lied…even about the littlest thing?" _

_ I bit my bottom lip. "You think it should have ended a long time ago?" _

_ "I do," he whispered. "But I didn't want it to because I wanted you to be happy. Lily was right when she said you had worked so hard to be in a good relationship with Sirius…but I don't think good relationships should be hard work." _

_ I stepped back and wiped my cheeks, nodding my head. "I don't know what to do." _

_ "Hold your ground," Gabriel shrugged. "If Sirius loves you he'll come around. And I'm sure he loves you, Cadence. He's just afraid that you don't love him." _

_ "But that's ridiculous," I whispered. _

_ "Is it?" Gabriel asked lifting my chin. "Do you blame him for doubting you?" _

"_CADENCE!" screamed a voice running down the street. _

_ "GABRIEL!" I yelled over the roaring flames as I dashed across the street. I caught Gabriel's arm before he could jump my gate and run into the burning flames. He grabbed me and forced me to my knees, pressing his wand against my neck. I immediately lifted my hands and looked up at him with tears in my eyes. _

_ "It's me," I heaved with heavy breathes. "You held my hand as I stabbed you in the kitchen after we had a pancake breakfast. I took your blades with me before I left…I…I made stars appear on the grass outside the basement window when I lied about trying to escape…I…" _

_ "I love you," he sighed falling to his knees before me and engulfing me in his arms. He held me close, squeezing me between his chest and arms. I began to cry against him. The only thing I could think about was the man that had kept us apart all these years…Sirius…it had all been a lie. I should have left Sirius long ago so that I could be with Gabriel who loved and knew me better then anyone. I clung to him, sobbing. _

_ "They're gone," I sobbed in hysteria. "He killed them…he killed them. Sirius betrayed them! And Harry is gone! He's gone!" _

_ Gabriel sat back and held my cheeks, wiping my tears away. _

_ "No," he said shaking his head. "No. Harry is with Dumbledore. Hagrid saved him." _

_ I sighed with relief. "I have to see him." _

_ Gabriel shook his head. "Dumbledore is taking Harry to his Muggle Aunt's." _

_ "What?" I stammered leaning away from Gabriel. "What? No! I'm his godmother—" _

_ "You have to leave the country, Cadence," Gabriel said quickly. _

_ "What?" I looked at him shocked. "No. I'm not leaving…no Harry needs me." _

_ "Cadence," Gabriel said shaking me. "Look at your house…it's been destroyed—Voldemort is gone. The Death Eaters are going crazy…Harry killed him…somehow…he survived the Killing Curse and it backfired…your Father is dead." _

_ Gabriel's words weren't making any sense. I could only stare at him in shock. "But you have to get out of here. The Ministry thinks that you betrayed the Potters—because you're your Father's daughter. They think you and Sirius are responsible. You have to get out of here." _

_ "What?" It appeared that was all I could say. "Gabriel, I don't understand…" _

_ "I caught Sirius," Gabriel said. "I caught him at Remus' house packing his things. He's at the Ministry—" _

_ "You what?" _

"_Then stop depending on them," Gabriel said looking somewhat offended. He was hurt that I hadn't recognized him as the only one I loved who hadn't betrayed me. "Depend on only yourself, you won't be disappointed then—" _

_He was interrupted by the egg timer going off. I jumped and grabbed my face. Since Gabriel had arrived I had forgotten about the egg timer, and now he'd be here to find out the results too. I didn't know if I could handle that. _

"_What was that for?" he asked picking the egg timer up off the counter. "You're not cooking anything." _

"_Well, actually, I might be," I muttered standing up and moving down the hall. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" _

_He didn't answer and followed me to the bathroom. _

"_Gabriel," I sighed leaning in the door frame hoping to block the pregnancy test that sat on the counter from view. "I'm pretty sure I don't need your help or supervision while I go to the restroom." _

"_Why'd the egg timer go off?" _

"_I'll tell you when I get out of the bathroom." _

_Gabriel looked over my shoulder but said nothing. He stepped back and I slammed the door on his face. Who was I kidding, he wasn't an idiot. He had to have a pretty good idea why it had gone off. _

_I turned and picked up the test with weary eyes. I shook it nervously as I told myself to pull together. I was an Auror, and had seen worse things then even Alastor Moody; I could look at a pregnancy test and take the results. I locked my eyes shut and took a deep breathe._

_The truth was this stick was more frightening then anything I had ever faced in my life. The result of the test was going to change my life in a way that I could not handle. It was going to make my life harder and more dangerous. On the other hand…it could be negative in which case I'd be working myself up over nothing. After all, about two weeks after I had sex I experienced a violent attack where I was stabbed in the stomach. If I was pregnant it would truly be a miracle. _

_I took a long breath and looked down at the plastic. The whole world stopped and my heart plummeted into my stomach. _

"_Son of a bitch!" I screamed throwing the positive test into the trash can by the toilet. This was too much. I couldn't handle it anymore. All of my emotions overloaded and I screamed as I cried, gripping the counter and falling to my knees. _

_The bathroom door opened and Gabriel came in. He had seen the test over my shoulder, and knew I was upset because of it. He knelt behind me and wrapped his arms around my stomach, holding me close against him as I sobbed. I couldn't even describe the flood of emotions that had taken me. The only thing that could sum everything up is how numb I felt. My system was so overloaded with emotions that it went dead and I was numb to the world. There was nothing to feel anymore…I didn't want to feel._

"_My baby is going to be just like me," I coughed. "Her Father is a Death Eater…" _

_Gabriel wiped my hair out of my face and kissed the back of my neck. "It will be alright, Cadence. You're strong enough for this. It will be alright." _

_I turned in his arms and laid my head against his chest, sobbing into his shirt. Gabriel picked me up in his arms as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and stood up easily. I had lost a great deal of weight in the last couple of months, so it was not difficult for him to carry me upstairs to my small bedroom. He laid me down in the bed as I cried and sat next to me, rubbing my back. He leaned over me and kissed my ear gently, whispering that I was all he had, and he would always be there for me. _

_I couldn't bring myself to respond to him. The only thing I could think of was that I was pregnant with Sirius Black's baby… Gabriel didn't seem to mind however, he lay down in bed with me and held me tightly. I squeezed his hand once he wrapped his arm around me and kissed it, muttering a thank you for staying with me. Neither of us said anything else as I continued to sob into the pillows. Emotions were flooding my system, overloading me and I couldn't handle it. No words could describe my anger, frustration and fear…finally Sirius had made me feel indescribable…_

I gasped for breath and fell against Gabriel's bare chest. His breath was heaving just as quickly as mine was. I had never experienced someone using Legilimency on me like that before. A splitting head ache was separating my head. I rubbed my temple as I sat up. Gabriel looked over whelmed. He frowned deeply and sighed.

"I see what you mean by complicated," he whispered.

I gave him a half smile and nodded. He smiled at me and stroked my cheek. "I still don't remember though…your memories have told me a story of a man who loves you, but I do not feel like that man."

I frowned deeply and touched his hand as he stroked my cheek. "I won't hold it against you. It will all come back eventually."

Gabriel forced a smile and nodded. "I hope so."


	26. Gabriel's Mistake

I wrote to Carrigan the next day to inform her that Gabriel had woken, but he had amnesia and was greatly confused about everything that was going on. I told her she would have to wait a little bit longer to see him because right now he didn't even remember who she was. I spent the next few days at Gabriel's bedside, answering any questions that he had—which were many. He was especially interested in our relationship and why we had never been married or even had sex.

"You told me just before Christmas that neither of us was the marrying type," I said with a soft laugh as he ate a piece of bread off his plate. I stole a piece of fruit off his plate as he smiled at me.

"Why would I say that to you? Did you ask me to marry you?"

"Oh no," I shook my head. "Gabriel I won't even give in and have sex with you, what makes you think I'd marry you?"

"Then what sparked the comment?" he asked.

I frowned and looked down at the tray that divided us on his bed. "Carrigan had asked. She feels that we should be married."

Gabriel nodded his head slowly. "Who is Carrigan?"

"She's my daughter," I responded. "She is Sirius and my daughter. You're her Godfather, you've helped me raise her."

"I'm her Godfather?" he sat up straight and looked at me with weary eyes. "Does that seem like a good idea? I mean, aren't I a horrible role model? From what you've said I'm a womanizing violent pig."

"Yes," I nodded with a smile. "You are, but I'm a violent celibate bitch, so I'm not better a role model."

This comment made Gabriel smile as he finished eating the fruit off his plate. "So, Carrigan…she wishes us to be married?"

"She doesn't understand why we're not together. She thought you were her Father, when she was much younger. She still thinks of you as her Father. She's been worried sick about you."

"Well why don't you bring her to see me," he said with a frown. "If she's so worried?"

"I'm worried that you not remembering her will hurt her more then you being dead," I said rather coldly. Gabriel nodded his head and looked out the window on the left side of his bed. I sighed, feeling bad suddenly. I knew this hadn't been easy on either of us. "You can't remember anything?"

"No," he said with annoyance. "The only things I remember are what you've shown me, but even then I remember them as if they were someone else's memories—not mine."

"You don't remember the day you had your episode?"

"I wish you wouldn't call it that," he said scornfully.

"Well what else do you want me to call it, Gabriel?" I snipped. "We were out in the woods, training with Carrigan just after Christmas." I reached into my cloak pocket and pulled out the last picture Gabriel had taken with Carrigan and me. I laid it down on the tray in front of me. "We took that three days before it happened. We had finished training and Carrigan kicked your ass. She knocked you the ground and when we helped you up you looked tired, almost like you were too old for this anymore. We turned our backs to start packing up and she saw you fall. She screamed. I've never heard her scream like that before and your body started convulsing. Your eyes were silver and Carrigan was still screaming…" My voice trailed off as Gabriel picked up the picture of us on the tray. He held it tightly in his hand as he studied it.

"I would like to meet her, Cadence," he whispered touching the picture. "She looks just like you. Damned is the man who ever falls in love with her."

"You say that all the time," I said with a small laugh. Gabriel smiled at me with those charming pale blue eyes. I stood up from the bed and fixed my cloak. Gabriel extended the picture to me. "Keep it," I whispered. "Maybe it will help you remember."

"I think you kissing me will help me remember," he said grabbing my arm gently and pulling me towards him. My thighs hit the bed and he continued to pull me towards him, making me bending over the bed and his muscular chest.

"I was afraid you wouldn't be the same," I whispered close to him. "That you wouldn't want me anymore."

His fingers graced my cheeks, sending shivers all through my body. "I'm pretty sure I will always want you."

I rolled my eyes and stood up straight, pulling away from him. "I'm taking you home tomorrow, Gabriel. You need to get out of this ward."

"What about your work?"

"I refuse to work with anyone else," I shrugged. "I told Scrimgeour that I was emotionally traumatized by your condition, and that I would need to take time off as well to help you recover, because I'm all you have."

Gabriel grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him again. "Is that true?"

"Yes," I whispered with a passionate sigh. Gabriel held my chin and looked at my eyes closely.

"I feel like I should tell you I love you," he said smiling at me with a crooked grin. "But I know that you'll deny or ignore it."

"I won't," I whispered leaning my mouth closer to his. He came in, closing the gape between our lips and kissed me full on the mouth. His tongue slipped between my lips and played with mine, making me want more of his passion and lust. I was happy that he was just as lustful as he was before. It was like we had started over—to him I was just a woman that he liked a lot, that he was learning more and more about each day. He couldn't remember all my secrets, but he knew he wanted to know them. To him, Sirius didn't matter—nothing mattered, because to him I didn't have any baggage….to him this was new, perhaps a little familiar, but exciting.

"But I'm not going to say it back either," I said pulling away. He smiled as he looked at me with cool eyes. His eyes were trying to see into me, trying to learn all of my secrets…

"Isn't that ignoring it?"

"No," I responded. I stood up straight. "I will pick you up tomorrow. Maybe I'll find some way to help you remember the vision you were having. Dumbledore thinks that Divinity sent you a vision that caused your episode."

"Divinity is your niece," he whispered. "Right? The one who was kidnapped."

"Yes, that is correct. She is a very gifted young woman."

Gabriel nodded. "Why does Dumbledore think that she is responsible for sending a vision to me?"

"You have a strong psychic connection to her," I whispered. "She was one of your students, but you lost her to my Father. She was raised in Dark Magic and she is arrogant about her powers."

"Perhaps she knows what is happening to me," he said. I looked at him for a long moment, not saying anything as I thought about his words. Of course Divinity would know what had happened to Gabriel, if what happened actually did have to do with her and a premonition. Why hadn't I thought of it before? "Cadence?"

"Yes?" I blinked at Gabriel.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, fine," I said with a nod. "I will see you tomorrow."

As I left the ward I continued to think of Divinity. It all seemed so obvious, how could I not have thought of it sooner? Why hadn't Dumbledore thought of it sooner? If Divinity had caused Gabriel to have the forced premonition, why couldn't we ask her about it? And why couldn't she fix him? Instead of going to the Ministry, like I was supposed to, I went straight to Hogwarts. I was happy to see that I had arrived while the students were between classes. As I walked in the entrance hall, Carrigan and her second year friend Ginny Weasley caught my eye. They were making their way down towards the stairs that headed for the dungeons, no doubt for potions. This was perfect timing, Carrigan had potions with Divinity Jasper.

"Mom?" Carrigan questioned as she stopped at the top of the stairs. Ginny stopped next to her and turned to look up at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi Carrigan," I said as I looked over their shoulders to find Divinity. I didn't see her and turned to look out at the hall behind me. "Ginny, how are you?"

"Fine, thanks," Ginny said.

"Mom?" Carrigan said again to get my attention. I blinked and looked at her.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Divinity, have you seen her?" I questioned.

"What?" Carrigan looked confused. "Why would I see that wretched girl?"

"You have potions together, don't you?"

"Yes," Carrigan nodded. "What is going on? Does this have to do with Gabriel?"

"Yes," I said as I ushered the two girls down the stairs into the dungeon corridor.

"Mom, you're freaking me out," Carrigan hissed. "Not to mention that people are looking at you like you're crazy."

I glanced around us and noticed that people were indeed looking at me with wide, curious eyes. Taking a slow breath, I tried to calm down. I pulled my cloak shut over my body to hide the holster of weapons on my sides.

"What do you want with Divinity?" Carrigan whispered. She glanced at Ginny. "I'll meet you in class, Ginny. I just need to speak with my Mom."

"Sure," Ginny shrugged. "Nice seeing you Miss Coleman."

"Thanks," Carrigan said as Ginny walked faster down the hall and into the classroom. I followed Ginny with my eyes, then looked back at Carrigan, who I felt was treating me like I was slightly mad. I was simply a woman on a mission—looking for Divinity Jasper.

"Now, what do you want with Divinity? What does she have to do with Gabriel's episode?"

I blinked at my daughter and frowned, standing up straight. "That's not your concern, Carrigan."

She looked at me with wide eyes. "Mom, what are you going to do? She's not going to want to talk to you—are you just going to grab her out of the hall and run with her?"

"Something like that," I shrugged. "I haven't really thought it through."

Carrigan sighed loudly with frustration. "You sound like Gabriel—"

"You sound like your Father," I said crossly. Carrigan gave me the dirtiest look she could muster, which had nearly no effect on me.

"Cadence," said a dreamy voice behind me. I broke my stare with Carrigan and turned to see Divinity Jasper standing behind me. She looked frightening with her two tone hair pin straight and her missed match eyes. She was glaring at me, which made me feel uneasy.

"Divinity," I whispered.

"I need you to take me to see Gabriel," she whispered quickly. "I'm afraid something horrible has happened."

I looked at her very seriously as I put my hands on my hips, standing over her and wondering if she was serious. I considered using Legilimency on her, but before I could do so she spoke.

"Don't bother trying to enter my mind," she sighed. "You won't be able to penetrate it." I frowned deeply and shook my head. "Please, take me to him."

"Why do you want to see him?" Carrigan questioned.

"That's none of your business, Carrigan," Divinity retorted.

"Alright, that's enough," I said raising my hand to stop Divinity from speaking. "It's a valid question, and one I would like to know the answer to."

"I've been having visions of him, and I think he's in danger," she responded.

Carrigan grabbed my arm and pulled me around. "Mom," she said quickly in a low whisper so Divinity couldn't hear us. "You aren't actually considering this are you? What are the chances that you need to find her and she just shows up needing to find you?"

Carrigan had a fair point, which made me proud. I was happy that I had raised a smart, thoughtful young woman. I bit my bottom lip and stood up straight.

"I was looking for her anyways," I whispered. "At least this way I won't have to kidnap her."

Carrigan sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "Be careful." She turned and walked away quickly.

"Is she mad that you picked me over her?"

"Yes," I whispered turning to Divinity. "But she will always win over you Divinity. She is my daughter—"

"And I'm your niece," Divinity said wisely.

"You _were_ my niece," I said taking her arm. "Come on."

"Why were you looking for me?" she asked as we exited Hogwarts castle.

"Gabriel has had amnesia for the last week because of a premonition he had after the New Year. He was in an unconscious state for nearly a month—Dumbledore seems to think that you must have sent him a premonition."

"I did," Divinity said with a nod. "I had to warn him."

I stopped on the steps of Hogwarts and looked up at Divinity who stood behind me. "Your warning took away a month of his life."

"A month that he would have been spending with you?" Divinity questioned with a smirk. "Please, Cadence. We both know that despite your undying love for Gabriel you will never be with him. You'll always be a tease and he'll always be a moth to your flame. You are destined to be caught between two men—two men who will always love you."

I could only glare at Divinity. "My destiny is not the issue—especially my destiny with Gabriel—"

"You're not destined to be with him," Divinity said.

"You are?" I snipped growing very frustrated with her. I wasn't sure what kind of game she was playing. When I saw her a few months ago, before Christmas, she remembered me as the woman who tried to kill her and her Father. Now she seemed to be fully aware of who she was and everything that had happened for far in her eighteen years. "That's why he stopped teaching you. You developed an unnatural attraction to him despite your age."

"I'm ageless," she whispered as she passed me on the steps. Her eyes were icy cold, glaring at me. I rolled my eyes and followed her down the gravel path towards the front gates.

"Why is it that you appear to remember everything now?" I questioned. "When I saw you last you barely remembered who Gabriel was, now you know who he is and that you're older then you really are."

Divinity frowned and glanced at me. Her eyes looked nervous.

"My parents have been lying to me," she whispered.

I stopped and grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at me. "What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously. Divinity frowned and pulled her arm out of my hand. She stood tall in front of me, obviously not intimidated by my violent demeanor.

"They tired to alter my memory again over holiday because I was having visions of Gabriel," she said.

"And how did you stop them from doing so?"

"I let them cast their spells, but I was able to fight them off," she shrugged. "I held on to the reality I remembered, but acted as if I didn't remember anything that they had tried to erase."

I studied her closely, not very sure if I trusted her at all.

"You don't have to trust me, Cadence," she whispered. "I don't like you, nor do I trust you. We're still on opposite sides of the game—I just want to help Gabriel."

She turned and continued to walk off the Hogwarts grounds. I frowned deeply and ran my hand through my hair. I didn't fully understand what was going on—Divinity wasn't on our side, but she wasn't happy with her parents…did that mean she wasn't happy with Voldemort because he was also responsible for erasing and mutilating her memory?

When we reached the outside of the gates on the gravel path leading to Hogsmeade, Divinity stopped to look at me.

"Are we Apparating?" she asked.

I nodded. "Can you Apparate yourself?"

Divinity smirked. "Cadence, I am only twelve."

"Oh right," I said motioning for her to come close. Of course, Divinity must have been fully aware that now she was actually eighteen. She had been experimented on with age spells and potions—to ensure her survival over time; to ensure Voldemort's survival.

I held onto her shoulders and within moments we were standing in the quiet corridor outside of Gabriel's ward. Divinity broke free and went to make her way into the closest door. I grabbed her arm and turned her to me.

"What!" she snipped at me.

"I don't know what you're play at," I said sharply. "But the moment I sense any funny business, you're gone. You don't get to play games with him right now."

Divinity rolled her eyes. "I get it," she said glaring at me. She pulled her arm out of my grasp and advanced into the ward. I followed her wit ha roll of my eyes. The fact that the girl was half related to me disturbed me.

I was surprised that Divinity seemed to know exactly where she was going. She marched her way to the last curtains and pulled them back. I caught up to her and sighed as Gabriel was sitting in the bed, reading a news paper. He looked up, surprised to see me again so soon. His eyes met mine for a moment before they fell on Divinity.

"Gabriel, this is—"

"Divinity," Gabriel breathed. I stood up straight as I pulled the curtains tightly around us. It was a good thing that Gabriel remembered who Divinity was.

"Hello Gabriel," she said lightly. She moved forward to the bed and leaned against it. "It's so good to see you awake."

I turned quietly and took a seat on the opposite side of the bed. Gabriel sat up straight and looked at me as Divinity sat on the side of the bed. He looked like he was full of awe. His dark green eyes stared at me and then looked back and Divinity. I realized that he didn't remember any more then her name. He was looking to me to help him.

"She sent you a vision," I said motioning to Divinity. "The vision is what caused your episode and your amnesia now."

"Don't you remember my vision?" she asked.

"No," Gabriel shook his head. "I'm sorry I don't."

Divinity frowned and leaned forward, extending her hand towards his face. Gabriel leaned back away from her, almost afraid. This caused Divinity to frown.

"I can show you again," she whispered. "But I have to touch you."

Gabriel glanced at me. I shrugged; not knowing what was going to happen and rather unsure if we should trust Divinity. He looked back at Divinity and nodded. She then extended her hand to his head, pressing her fingertips against the side of his head. She closed her eyes, and Gabriel followed.

I sat in silence, waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did. At least for fifteen minutes the only thing that could be heard was the voices of other people talking in the ward. Suddenly, both Divinity and Gabriel gasped loudly. I sat forward in my chair, worried that something had happened. Divinity pulled away, sighing and held her head as if she were in pain. I stood up and touched Gabriel's arm. He turned to look at me, as if he knew so much more then he had before. He was enlightened.

"Gabriel?" I whispered.

He reached out and touched my cheek.

"I remember everything," he said. "Everything." I couldn't help smiling as relief washed over my body. I looked at Divinity, who looked blank as she sat on the bed. She took slow breaths, obviously exhausted by sharing her vision with Gabriel.

"What did you see?" I asked her. "What was so important?"

"She was afraid that her parents would come after me," Gabriel said looking to Divinity. "My presence at Hogwarts has set things into motion that are changing her destiny."

Divinity frowned deeply as she rubbed her neck. "There are many things that are about to change, Gabriel."

Gabriel frowned and nodded his head. "You shouldn't go back to them."

"I have to," she sighed. "I am not one of you—"

"But you can be," I said quickly. "We can keep you safe—"

"I would never," she retorted. "I do not care for good things Cadence. I will go back to my parents so they do not suspect anything. But Gabriel, you need to stop pursuing Sirius Black. You need to go into hiding."

"What?" I questioned quickly. "Stop looking for Sirius and go into hiding? From what?"

Divinity blinked at me. "If you continue to looking for Black then the truth of his crime will be revealed and the Dark Lord will return."

Divinity always spoke in riddles it seemed. I looked at Gabriel and frowned deeply. He seemed to be caught suddenly, between Divinity and me. He believed her and felt that her words were just. She was right—he needed to go into hiding.

"But what does he need to hide from?" I asked.

"My parents," she shrugged. "The Dark Lord."

"How do you know he's going to come back?"

"I have seen it," Divinity and Gabriel said at the same time. They both looked at me with dark stares. I frowned deeply, crossing my arms over my chest. I paced to the window in the ward and came back to the bed, placing my hands on my hips.

"You're sure?" I whispered as my voice shook.

"Yes," Divinity said. "I don't know when, but he will. You need to leave Sirius Black be. You cannot catch him."

"Black is a follower of my Father," I said quickly as I tried to keep my voice low. There were too many other people in the room that shouldn't be overhearing the conversation we were having. First of all, I didn't want to scare anyone into a crazed panic; and secondly, I didn't know who we could trust in the room. "If we do not catch him, is it possible that he is responsible for bringing my Father back?"

"I don't know," Divinity said. "I did not see how Grandpapa returns—"

"Did you just call him Grandpapa?" I questioned interrupting her. I was disgusted by what I had just heard. Voldemort being called a name of endearment made my skin crawl and my blood turn to ice.

"He is my Grandfather," Divinity retorted. "As I was saying, I did not see how he returned. I just know that if you catch Sirius Black it will allow him to return."

"Why?" I questioned. "That doesn't make any sense—"

"Probably because if you chase after Black you won't be catching the real follower of Grandpapa," Divinity replied. "You need to focus on the true betrayer of the Potters."

I could only stare at the girl and her mismatching eyes. "What?" I stammered.

"Sirius is innocent, Cadence," Gabriel said looking at me. "I caught the wrong man twelve years ago."


	27. New Mission

There were chills crawling through my entire body. Gabriel's words were not registering with my mind. I heard him, but I didn't comprehend what he was saying at all. Just like years ago when he had caught me on the street, as my house burst into flames behind us, and he was telling me that Sirius was responsible for the Potters death; I didn't believe it…just like I didn't believe it now.

I shook my head and stepped away from the bed, going back to the window and staring out of it. I gripped the windowsill, trying very hard to stay calm. Looking out it, I saw the beautiful city of London outside. The sun was shining down and reflecting off the snow covered ground, making the city look bright and welcoming. It seemed ironic to me that the world looked so beautiful, so happy, when I was falling to pieces—again. Everything had been wrong; what was I going to tell Carrigan? I didn't want her to hate her Father, it was just easier to hate him when he was a lying, betraying, murdering, Death Eater—now that wasn't true?

Biting my bottom lip, I turned and crossed my arms over my chest as I looked at Gabriel on the bed. He had gotten out of the bed by now and was putting a shirt on to cover his well chiseled chest.

"He could still be a Death Eater," I said.

"You know in your heart that's not possible," Divinity said. I turned, facing her with an ugly look. My eyes were covered with ice as I glared at her mismatched pair, wanting desperately for her to shut up. For the first time in years, the room began to shake with my frustration. Divinity flashed her eyes at me, threatening me for not controlling my powers. I felt Gabriel's hands on my shoulders, squeezing them gently to help me relax. I pulled out of his grasp and turned to him.

"You take her back to Hogwarts," I said.

"Where are you going?" he questioned as I buttoned my cloak over my torso.

"To find Sirius," I said.

"Didn't you hear me say you can't go after him?" Divinity snipped. "You have to let his story unfold with out your interference. If you catch him then Grandpapa will surely return."

I grabbed Divinity's arm and pinned her sharply against the ward wall. She left out a soft scream of surprise, which caused the other tenants of the room to grow quiet.

"What makes you think I trust you?" I hissed. "You told me yourself you're not on our side. If you don't trust your parents that means you're finally catching on that you shouldn't trust anyone—it doesn't mean you're not still for dear old Voldy. How do I know that you're not setting into motion some ridiculous plan to help bring him back? I don't think you want me to catch Sirius because he is a Death Eater and his return to Voldemort's side will bring him back—"

"Cadence, I saw it," Gabriel interjected with a stern voice. "Sirius is innocent."

I didn't look at him. I only kept my eyes on the niece that I had been fighting so hard for. I had hoped we hadn't lost her—that she was savable; but something happened that day as I brought her from Hogwarts that changed my perspective on Divinity Jasper. When she told me she was still against us, I believed her.

How did I know that she wasn't responsible for helping Voldemort return? After all, that is why he kidnapped her. She was being used to ensure that he survived, at any cost. If she didn't want me to catch Sirius Black it wasn't because he was innocent; and it wasn't because she thought I should be looking for the real follower of Voldemort; if I didn't go after Sirius, if I let things play out with out interfering he could be helping my Father's follower return to his side—whoever that follower maybe, whether it was Sirius or someone else. I had to interfere—because Divinity was so adamant that I not.

"You're a fool," Divinity hissed as she grabbed at my arms. I released her and gave Gabriel a sharp look, then left the ward. I was marching down the stairs, heading for the lobby when Gabriel caught up to me.

"Cadence," he said grabbing my arm and stopping me on the second floor landing.

"Where is Divinity?" I questioned. "You can't just leave her alone—"

"She's coming," he said in a calm voice. "What are you going to do?"

"I told you," I said irritably. "I'm going to find Sirius Black—"

"And do what?"

"Talk," I shrugged.

"Really? You're going to find him now, after we've been searching for him for months, and just talk to him? You're in a horrid temper and he usually raises yours—"

"If he's innocent, like you're suddenly insisting he is, then all will be well," I shrugged. "I really have no reason to catch him or kill him."

Gabriel frowned as I pulled my arm from his grasp. I heard a door open in the stairwell above us and sure enough Divinity's ghostly figure descended the stairs.

"I'll be careful," I said reading the desperate look in Gabriel's eyes. "If all of this is true, and Sirius is innocent and not a Death Eater then he's not a threat." I turned and descended the rest of the stairs quickly, leaving Gabriel and Divinity in the stairwell. As soon as I was in the first floor corridor I Apparated to avoid him coming to stop me again.

I appeared in my study at my country home, a place I had not been for sometime. I tore my cloak off and sat down in my arm chair, thinking how I was going to find Sirius. He and I did not share the same kind of connection as Gabriel and me. When I had been in trouble Gabriel always found me because of some sort of connection we shared. I didn't have that now; I was going to have to think through this mess.

Before I could even start thinking there was a sharp tap on the window of my study. I turned in my chair to see a school owl from Hogwarts sitting on my windowsill. I sighed and stood up, praying that Carrigan hadn't gotten into some kind of trouble over the last couple of hours. I opened the window and allowed the barn owl to fluttering into the room. It perched itself on my desk and held out its leg where a small role of parchment was tied. I took the letter off and the owl sailed out of the open window before I had the chance to read the letter. I frowned and opened it, breaking the wax seal and unrolling it.

_Mom, I didn't get the chance to tell you earlier because you were acting crazy, but Dad broke into Hogwarts again this weekend. He attacked Ron Weasley while he was asleep in his bed. Everyone is saying he meant to get Harry, but pulled back the curtains on the wrong bed. _

_ Carrigan. _

I jumped out of my chair and grabbed my cloak. Why was this the first time I was hearing about this situation? I Apparated as my cloak spun around me and appeared outside the gates of Hogwarts. I immediately marched up the gravel path, my cloak flowing dramatically behind me. I didn't stop briskly walking until I found myself in the Headmaster's office. He was not there, had to attend to a matter on the first floor, but I was assured he'd be along momentarily. To my surprised, after ten minutes of waiting, Gabriel entered the office, not Dumbledore. He looked just as surprised to see me.

"I thought you were going to find Black," he said as he closed the door.

"Carrigan wrote me about him breaking into Gryffindor Tower and pulling a knife on a student this weekend."

"Divinity mentioned it," he said as he nodded. He took a seat and rubbed his face.

"Are you two friends now?" I asked.

"Are you jealous?" he answered with another question. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest.

"No," I whispered. "Just worried."

"Why?" he asked as he sat back in the chair, relaxing. I gave him a dirty look. He'd been relaxing for the last month and a half.

"Because it's like we've reversed roles," I said harshly. "Now you're hopeful about Divinity, and trusting her, and I'm the one slamming her into walls."

"I didn't say I trusted her."

"You're acting like you trust her. How do you know she didn't plant this vision in your head? How do you know she isn't supposed to be doing this so Voldemort returns?"

"I don't think you can fake premonitions, Cadence."

"No, but you can share memories through Legilimency," I retorted. "You can make those up, why couldn't you pretend one is a premonition."

"You have a point," Gabriel conceded. "But I believe in her power, I always have."

I rolled my eyes at him and turned away. I didn't want to listen to him babble about Divinity's Seeing power and her magical ways that put her in the middle of good and evil—obviously she wasn't in the middle; she had chosen a side—the wrong side.

"I'm surprised you've given up on her so quickly."

"She told me she wasn't on our side," I shrugged. "You were right, she's lost."

"Mark this day down in history," Gabriel said sarcastically from his chair. "Cadence Coleman just admitted that I was right, implying that she was wrong."

I turned to him as the room shook around me. He sat up in his chair, giving me a very serious stern look. I remember many times I made the room shake and he looked at me like that; like I was a child incapable of controlling the powers that had been passed down to me from my Father's powerful magical blood.

"Afraid I'm going to disintegrate you into a million pieces?" I snipped viciously.

"No," he shook his head as he stood. "I'm afraid you're going to bring the entire ceiling down and kill both of us."

"I could stop it if it started to fall."

"You sound just like her now," Gabriel said looking me over. "Just as arrogant as she is."

"I'm frustrated," I snipped. "So either I get lippy with you or the ceiling does come down on us."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and turned away. "Is it that hard for you to believe that I made a mistake? That we all made a mistake by thinking Sirius Black was responsible for the Potters, Pettigrew's, and those thirteen muggles' murders?"

"No," I whispered sadly. "It just makes me feel like more of a bitch for not believing in him."

Gabriel looked at me suddenly. "We all lost faith in him, Cadence. You can't let him hold that against you now. You didn't know. You were trusting the evidence in front of you—"

"Instead of trusting the man I loved," I interjected.

Gabriel stood up straight, looking hurt in his dark eyes. I frowned and stepped to him. "I'm sorry, Gabriel," I whispered touching his chest. "I didn't mean…"

"Yes you did," he said looking me in the eye. "And I'm the fool who has forgiven you time and again for loving another man." I frowned and looked at the ground, suddenly feeling like a horrible teasing witch. "I even tricked myself into thinking that I somehow could replace him—to you and Carrigan."

I looked up at him suddenly and grabbed the collar of his cloak. "You have always been there, and you have never doubted me. He did. He left me and you never have."

"I did," he shook his head. "I left you after we were kidnapped by your Father, when you hurt your leg…I left hoping to get you out of my head."

"But you came back," I said.

"Maybe Sirius is trying to come back now," he whispered stroking my cheek.

"It doesn't matter," I said shaking my head. "I choose you, Gabriel Quintin. I choose you."

Gabriel laughed lightly. "As happy as I am to hear that, Cadence, I don't believe you. You often chose Sirius over me…and yet here we are in each others arms years later."

I gave him a nasty glare. "I may have said those things, but it's always been you Gabriel, even when I was with Sirius."

Gabriel smiled a triumphant grin, as if those words completed his life. He could die happy now, knowing that I was admitting how much he meant to me…after nearly twenty years of loving each other…and even saying it sometimes. I was finally admitting that it was him over Sirius, despite those years that I stayed with Sirius.

"How are you going to tell Sirius?"

"He thinks we're together already," I shrugged moving away from Gabriel. I bit my bottom lip and started to pace the office. "The concern now is proving he's innocent. He has to know who was responsible for betraying the Potters…but he was their secret keeper."

I stopped and turned to Gabriel. "He didn't want to be."

"What?"

"He didn't want to be the Potters secret keeper, he thought it was too obvious," I said biting my lip. "What if he got someone else to take the position? But who?"

"Remus or Peter would be my assumption," Gabriel shrugged. I frowned.

"That doesn't make any sense because he blew up that street with Peter and the muggles on it—" I stopped dead. "He killed Peter."

"So?" Gabriel said looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"Gabriel," I said grabbing his cloak again as if to shake some sense into him. "He killed Peter because Peter betrayed the Potters to Voldemort. Peter was their secret keeper! Who would suspect stupid, shy, quivering Peter Pettigrew!"

"Obviously your Father did," Gabriel said nodding in agreement and understanding. "But Cadence, that means Sirius is still a murderer."

"If he killed Peter I can't hold that against him," I said. "We would have done the same thing—"

"I can't say that for sure," Gabriel said shaking his head. I gave him a steady glare and he shrugged.

"Come on, we really have to find Sirius now," I said moving to the office door. It opened before I got to it and Professor Albus Dumbledore stepped into the room.

"Hello Miss Coleman, Mr. Quintin," he said closing the door. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Mr. Quintin, it is so good to see you up and with your memory intact."

"Yes, thanks to Divinity" Gabriel said bowing slightly. I gave him a dirty look when he gave credit to Divinity for bringing his memory back. What about me? I had been the one who thought to bring Divinity to him.

"I'm assuming you're both here to discuss Black breaking into Gryffindor Tower this weekend?"

"Yes," Gabriel said glancing at me as I stood by the office door.

"Do you have any idea where he would be hiding, Professor?" I asked coming forward. He looked up at me from his desk and frowned slightly.

"No, Miss Coleman, I'm afraid not," he said. "I would assume that he is somewhere near Hogwarts though. How else could he break in two times and be at the Quidditch game?"

I nodded in agreement. "Maybe in the Forbidden Forest."

"I thought you two were on leave from the Ministry," said Dumbledore as he took a seat and went through some of the papers on his desk.

"Funny how we get taken off of Black's case and he breaks into Hogwarts again," I said. "Apparently he took advantage of no Aurors being close by." I glanced at Gabriel for a few moments, making eye contact with him.

_Should we tell him? _I asked.

"Tell me what?" Dumbledore asked softly. I looked at him with a slight frown and he smiled. "Forgive Miss Coleman, I couldn't help but over hear."

I shook my head, it didn't matter what he over heard. Now I had to tell him what we thought about Sirius.

"We think Sirius is innocent," I said to him.

Dumbledore seemed to ponder this for a few moments, after which he nodded his head. "That would explain some things that don't make sense. But it would also bring many other questions to rise."

"Yes," Gabriel agreed. "Like why Sirius broke into Gryffindor Tower this weekend."

"It was assumed he went to the wrong bed," Dumbledore said. "He was going after Harry."

"But if he's innocent he would have no reason to go after Harry," I said as I bit my lip. I stood quietly for the next few moments. "Who's bed was it?"

"Ronald Weasley's," Dumbledore responded.

I frowned and nodded my head. "Maybe he's just lost his marbles."

Gabriel rolled his eyes as I opened the office door. "If you will excuse me, Sir, I'm going to go find Sirius and ask him myself."

Dumbledore smiled wisely at me. "Of course, Miss Coleman."

As I walked down the corridor, heading for the entrance of the school, my mind raced allowing all of the pieces of fall into place. The many pieces that I had been missing for the last twelve years were starting to make sense: Why Sirius had betrayed the Potters to begin with (he didn't); why he had been their secret keeper when he didn't want to be (he hadn't); and why he had killed Peter Pettigrew. Sirius being innocent also explained why he had saved me on the ice—he was still good; whether he loved me or not.


	28. At the Shrieking Shack

It had occurred to me as I stood in Dumbledore's office that Sirius was definitely close to Hogwarts. I remembered when we were in school that the boys used to know of all the secret passages in the school and during the full moon they would illegal transform into animals to spend time with Remus. One of these secret passages led to the Shrieking Shack—and I had the sudden sneaking suspicion that this may be where Sirius was hiding.

That evening, instead of going home, I went into the forest that set the Shrieking Shack away from Hogsmeade. I sat on a rock in the clearing on the top of the hill that over looked the shack, where Gabriel had his episode just after Christmas. I was debating how to get into the house unnoticed, and when the best time would be to go in. I hoped that I would sit long enough to see a black dog leaving the house—I hoped Sirius would leave his hide out to find food. I sat for hours, waiting; after about four hours, when it was well into the night, I was starting to think I may have gotten wrong. This may not have been Sirius' hide out at all. Perhaps he was hiding somewhere in Hogsmeade. I stood up and made my way down the hill, and very carefully jumped the fence that separated the "haunted" property from the dark forest. I scanned the snow covered ground looking for evidence of a dog or wolf on the property—there were too many animal tracks though. When I reached the house I walked around to the back of it, out of sight from the forest. I had to find a way to get into the house without making any noise. If Sirius were inside he would probably hear any movement I made, especially if he were in his dog form.

I noticed that there was broken window on the back porch. I stepped close to it, being very carefully with my steps. I didn't want the wood to creak under my weight; I didn't want my breath to fog up the window as I leaned close to it. It appeared to lead into a dark sitting room with torn up furniture. There was no way for me to get in through the window with out breaking the rest of the glass however.

There was sudden movement and the hissing of an animal. I jumped back as a fat orange tabby cat jumped up onto the windowsill from the inside of the house. It clawed towards me, trying to attack me and hissed loudly as if trying to scare me off—or warn someone. I sighed with frustration and stood up straight, fixing my cloak. The cat continued to hiss and spit at me as it was perched in the window.

"I know you," I said pointing at the cat. I recognized the cat from somewhere, I just wasn't sure where. There was the loud crashing of wood and when I turned I saw a black dog jumping up from the snow covered ground where it had fallen as it jumped over the wooden fence. His back legs must have caught the fence—which was very unlike Sirius—and caused him to fall. I turned, and jumped off the back of the porch to pursue Sirius, but the cat jumped after me onto my back. Its claws sunk deep into my skin, causing me to scream in pain and annoyance. I tripped in the snow and as I fell the cat released me to land on its feet. I pulled my wand from my boot quickly and stunned the cat—the wretch was helping Sirius. I rolled over in the snow and saw Sirius racing up the hill into the forest. I cursed under my breath and Apparated from where I lay.

Apparation from the lying position was not the brightest idea. I crashed into a tree and bush as I appeared up the hill—which was painful. The only good thing about it was I appeared right in front of Sirius and he crashed into me. The wind was knocked out of me and I cried out as the branches scratched my skin. When Sirius' body hit me he transformed back into a human. He jumped on top of me, pinning me down into the snow and dirt.

"Sirius!" I gasped with fury as his body pressed against me hotly. He held my arms over my head as his hands squeezed mine tightly.

"What are you doing!" he snapped at me.

"Following your dumb ass! Will you please get off of me?"

"You're crazy," he said. "I'm not going to let you up."

I swung my legs around as he straddled me at the waist, trying to escape him. I bucked my hips and knocked him off of me, rolling him onto his back and in turn straddling him. I punched him across the face and then pinned him down.

"I can play rough too, Sirius," I snapped.

"I know," he smirked. "I remember."

I rolled my eyes and let my guard down for a moment too long. Sirius bucked his hips, much like I just had. He flipped me off of him and grabbed a dagger from my boot. He placed it against my stomach as he knelt over me. I froze, instantly. I didn't think Sirius would stab me, but I didn't want to tempt him. He was still under the impression that I thought he was guilty of betraying and murdering the Potters.

"Why'd you break into Gryffindor Tower this weekend, Sirius?" I asked with a soft breath. He studied me for a few moments as his midnight blue eyes glared. Those eyes burned a hole in my heart; as I looked at them I could only thing of my beautiful daughter and how she bore those eyes. How Sirius could think that Carrigan was Gabriel's daughter and not his own was beyond me; but perhaps he hadn't seen her up close; perhaps he hadn't seen the same sparkle in her eye that was in his right now as he looked at me.

"I was looking for something," he whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"You're innocent," I said after a soft breath. "You wouldn't have a reason for going after Harry or Ron Weasley for that matter. Why were you in Hogwarts if you're innocent?"

Sirius suddenly glared at me. "Why do you think that?"

"Because Divinity sent Gabriel a vision—"

"You mean your husband believes I'm innocent?"

"He's _not_ my husband," I retorted sharply. I moved my leg around and knocked Sirius' arm away from my body. The dagger dropped a few feet away. I then kicked him on the head, knocking him into the snow face first. He groaned and sat back, moving away from me.

"Alright," Sirius said rubbing his chin. "Say you believe that I am innocent, what does that mean?"

I sat up, sighing and throwing my hair out of my face. "That we have a lot to figure out and fast—according to Divinity whoever betrayed Lily and James is still alive. But I'm assuming you killed Peter because he was their secret keeper—"

"I didn't kill anyone," Sirius said shaking his head. "Not even Peter, despite how much I may have wanted to."

I could only stare at Sirius for a few moments. How did he not kill Peter? He was responsible for blowing up a Muggle street corner, killing twelve Muggles and Peter.

"Peter blew up the street corner," Sirius said scornfully as he stood up. He came to me and extended his hand to me. I hesitated for a moment before I took it and allowed him to help me up. I dusted the snow and dirt off of me and Sirius looked me over. I frowned deeply and gave him a nasty glare.

"To fake his own death?" I asked as I bent down and picked up the dagger Sirius had pulled from my boot.

"Yes," Sirius responded slowly. "And to let me take the fall for everything else."

I replaced the dagger against my leg and stood up straight, putting my hands on my hips as I looked at Sirius. He looked horrible, skinny and weak. Yet his eyes shinned with a familiar energy that showed just how alive he was—he liked the fight we had just gotten into; he craved adventure and surprise. That energy was something I had always loved, but my own desire for adventure seemed to expand farther then Sirius' when we were together. He constantly worried if I was safe when I went out to hunt or do my job—his worrying was something that dragged me down, restricted and contained me; perhaps it was something that broke us apart.

"You look like hell," I whispered.

Sirius smiled. "Well I haven't been living in the best of places, Cadence. I don't have many options as a wanted fugitive."

I frowned and nodded. "You need to eat. I'll go get you some food and meet you back at your little hide out down the hill. Then we can speak about Peter and your innocence."

Sirius looked at me with very serious eyes. I could see that he was studying me wondering if I was going to get back up to get Gabriel and then come arrest him.

"You don't have to trust me—"

"If I don't trust you then I won't be here when you get back," he retorted.

"Well I'll see if you trust me then," I said giving him a nasty glare. "I suppose I don't have to go get you food. We can just go back and talk."

"Alright," he rolled his eyes. "Food would be nice."

I nodded. "I thought so. I'll be back in a few moments."

I Apparated before another would could be said and appeared in the small dark kitchen of my country home. I sighed as I tracked snow across the hard wood floors, making my way to the pantry to find a picnic basket. I pulled it out and placed a towel on the inside to line the wicker, then I quickly filled it with bread, meat, cheese and some fruit and vegetables. I wrapped another towel around the food and bit my bottom lip as I thought of anything else he might need. I quickly made my way upstairs to the bathroom at the end of the hall and found myself searching under the counter for the extra stash of Gabriel's toiletries. I found a new toothbrush and razor in a container under the counter. Collecting those two things and a bar of soap, I made my way back down to the kitchen. I picked up the basket of food and placed the toiletries on top, then I Apparated.

I appeared in the bedroom of the Shrieking Shack, and was surprised to see that this was where Sirius appeared to be living. The bed had been stripped; the blankets, sheets and pillows were on the hardwood floor. The orange tabby was curled up on the pillows. As soon as it noticed me it began to hiss and jumped up ready to attack.

"Relax kitty," Sirius appeared from a doorway near by. He was only wearing his pants when he emerged. "Go away, get out of here! Get!"

The tabby hissed at both of us and trotted out of the room, shaking its tail as it walked out.

"Sorry," he said. "The cat has taken a fancy to me. I'm not sure why."

"I think that is one of Harry's friend's cat," I said softly placing the basket of food on the bed. I couldn't help but look Sirius over as he was shirtless. He was so skinny I could see his rib cage. His tattooed skin was stretched across his bones. He pushed his shaggy curly black hair out of his face and looked me over. I turned away and picked up the soap, tooth brush and razor. I held them up to him.

"I thought you might like these also," I whispered extending them to him. He smiled and took them.

"Thank you. I'll be back in a moment," he said as he grinned. He turned and disappeared back into the bathroom. Within a few moments I could hear the water running and I felt my body shiver. Seeing Sirius half naked before me, and knowing that he was fully naked beyond the bathroom door caused me to remember all of our time together—the old feelings we had; the way he used to make me feel…the way he still made me felt; like I was an idiot school girl ready to take off her panties at the mere sight of him.

Sirius emerged within twenty minutes, washed but not shaven. I frowned slightly at him as he grinned. He was still half naked. I stared at his tattoos, admiring them; remembering how I used to trace them as we lie in bed together after a wonderful night of making love. On his chest was a dove, over his heart. I frowned slightly knowing that the dove represented me because when I started at the ministry my code name was Avery. "Thank you," he said rubbing his beard, which he had trimmed. "You don't realize what a luxury a toothbrush is until you don't have it."

"I know," I said. "I was in Azkaban once too, Sirius."

"Not for twelve years," he said shortly as he unwrapped the basket of food. He began to eat almost instantly, growing very quiet, and obviously very hungry. I sat down on the bed and he looked me over.

"What is the matter?" he asked as his mouth was full of bread. I rolled my eyes at him and ran my hand through my hair.

"Why were you in Hogwarts?" I asked.

"That is what is bothering you the most?"

"Yes," I nodded. "If you're innocent then you would have no reason for attack Harry or Ron Weasley."

"Well," Sirius said once he swallowed the bread. "Peter took the form of a rat didn't he?"

"Yes," I nodded. I had forgotten that Peter was an unregistered Animagus.

"Well the Weasley's have had an unnaturally long living pet rat, haven't they?" Sirius said as he went across the room to a pile of newspapers that sat in the corner by the fire place. He kicked through the stake and swooped down, picking up a paper. He brought it back to the bed as I picked up a piece of fruit. I began to eat the apple slowly as Sirius extended the paper to me. I took it, looking at the picture of the Weasley family that was on the front page because they had won a lottery prize that allowed them to travel to Egypt. I stared at the family picture confused.

"Sirius, have you truly gone mentally?" I stared up at him.

"No," he said sorely sitting down next to me. He pointed sharply at the paper. "There, on the boy's shoulder is a rat. Tell me, Cadence, how many toes does that rat have?"

I squinted at the picture of the Weasley family and found myself staring at Ronald Weasley, who had his pet rat sitting on his shoulder. The rat only had four toes on one of its paws. I clapped my hand to my mouth and looked up at Sirius.

"Peter cut off his thumb once he blew up the street, then turned into the little rat that he is and disappeared," Sirius nodded, then ate some of the turkey I had placed in the basket.

"Then he is the follower of Voldemort that Divinity warned me about," I said.

"She warned you?"

I sighed and shrugged. "She told me not to find you because I would interfere with the series of events that are about to play out. She seemed to think that if I interfere I would cause Peter to return to my Father."

Sirius nodded his head as he continued to eat, nearly finishing the entire basket of food I had brought him. I looked back at the paper and frowned deeply at the rat on Ron Weasley's shoulder. I had been wrong about everything; I had raised Carrigan to believe her Father was a mass murdering monster, and really he was just a giant jerk who left me.

"When did you ask him to be their secret keeper?" I asked very softly. I dropped the paper onto the floor and looked at Sirius, pulling my hair out of my face. Sirius looked at me with sad eyes.

"That same night, when they went into hiding," he responded. He stood up and began to pace around the room, kicking the newspaper I had thrown down on the floor. "I convinced them in the corridor that I was too obvious of a choice. I didn't want to risk their safety—they knew I would die for them, but I would be no match for Voldemort's powers of Legilimency. Even if I didn't want to give them away, I still could. I thought that Peter wouldn't be an obvious choice, that he'd be the safer choice. I was wrong."

I stood up and went to him. Holding his arm and stopping him from pacing. "It is not your fault," I whispered.

"But it is," he sighed. "I am the one who made them change secret-keepers."

"Sirius, you can't blame yourself," I said. "He would have found them somehow."

"You don't know that!" he yelled. "I went there as soon as we heard—I tried to save Harry, but Hagrid already had him. I should have done more!"

"There was nothing you could do!" I yelled back holding him still and looking him in the eye. "There was nothing either of us could do."

Sirius pulled out of my grasp and shook his head. "What do we do now?"

"We find Pettigrew," I nodded my head once with a glare. Sirius nodded his head slowly as he came back to me.

"How did you find me?" he whispered.

"A gut feeling," I shrugged. "No one else knows how you all came here to be with Remus. I figured you had to be hiding somewhere close to Hogwarts."

Sirius nodded. "I thought it was only a matter of time before you found me. If any Auror would find me it would be you Cadence."

"Well, the Ministry thinks I know you best," I said with a small smile.

Sirius was close to me again, standing right in front of me. He touched my cheek and looked me in the eye with fearful eyes, pained eyes. I recognized the stare from when we were young, still in school. After I had been kidnapped and returned to Hogwarts, Sirius often looked at me with those fearful-pained eyes. He was afraid of losing me. He was afraid of losing me now when he didn't even have me back yet.

I frowned and looked down at the ground as he leaned close to my face and lifted my chin. Sirius' lips delicately touched mine, kissing me softly as if he were afraid of how I may react to his kiss. I didn't blame him for being scared, for all he knew I would blow something up if he kissed me. Against my better judgment, I kissed him in return, because I stilled loved him. Sirius Black was innocent, and he still loved me despite everything he thought I had with Gabriel. He was kissing me with those soft tender kisses and his newly brushed minty-fresh breath. Those kisses reminded me of our past, when we were happy, when Lily and James were still alive; when we were fighting a war side by side, not afraid of what we might lose because in the end defeating my Father was worth that risk. Sirius' kisses transported me to the good-old-days of adventure and excitement; fear and pain; they reminded me of what was the most important time in my life.

I pulled away slowly, as reality started to over take me, letting his lips linger on mine for a few moments. His kisses only reminded me of the past, and just after the happy loving moments when we were together, were the moments when we fought, we screamed, and we hated each other. Dread and betrayal haunted our happy moments because of the relationship I had with Gabriel; because I had refused Sirius when he asked me to marry him; because he thought I was screwing Gabriel.

"Sirius," I whispered his name with a broken heart. "I don't love you anymore," I lied. "I stopped loving you when I thought you were responsible for my best friends' murder."

Sirius frowned deeply as his midnight blue eyes stared at me, broken and close to tears. "I have never stopped loving you," he whispered still close to my face. He leaned his forehead against mine. "Despite everything that has happened, I still love you."

I sighed and pulled away, moving to the bedroom window so I could stare out at the depressing grounds behind the house instead of having to stare at Sirius. He came up behind me and touched my arms.

"Sirius," I whispered turning to him. "Let's just catch Peter and get it all over with."

His eyes suddenly turned dark and glared at me, but he nodded. "Fine," he said. "We can do it your way. I understand you have a life to get back to."

I frowned and bit my bottom lip as he turned away. He thought that Gabriel and I were together, if not married, and that Carrigan was our daughter. He thought I had replaced him with Gabriel; everything he had ever wanted with me, marriage and a family, I had never wanted and now he thought that I just hadn't wanted those things with him. For a brief moment, Sirius and I were going to be fine, we were going to work together to find Peter and bring him to justice and our past wasn't going to get in the way; but now, our past was going to get in the way. Now, Sirius wasn't so forgiving of me moving on and he was not going to let me forget it.


	29. Emotional Attachment

"He refused to stay here," I whispered as I fixed the guest bed for Gabriel. He stood behind me, fresh out of the shower, and half naked. There was something about men being half naked around me that day; to haunt me with of memories of sex and desire, to tempt me in loving one of them…

I shook my head and stopped staring at Gabriel. I bit my bottom lip as I finished making the bed and went to the window. If I stared out the window I wouldn't have to look at Gabriel's gorgeous half naked body that was still glistening with water from his hot shower.

"He probably doesn't trust you," he said coming up behind me. I frowned slightly, knowing that he was close to me and if I turned to him I'd be pressing myself against his naked muscular chest.

I felt Gabriel's hands on my shoulders, which were bare because I was wearing a tank top and jeans. "Can you blame him?" he asked.

"No, of course not," I whispered with a shrug. I turned to Gabriel and gave him a small glare. "He still thinks we're screwing."

"I wish it were true," Gabriel smirked as he walked away from me. I hit his shoulder, which caused him to stop and look at me with raised eyebrows. I couldn't help but smile at his playfulness as he grabbed my waist, lifted me up and threw me on the bed. I grabbed his arms as I flew onto the sheets and pulled him towards me. I lifted my leg, planting my foot in his stomach and flipped him over me onto the other side of the bed.

Gabriel heaved a heavy sigh as he stood up from the grand where he had landed.

"I was just messing around, Cadence," he said roughly despite the grin on his lips. "No need to get violent."

He jumped onto the bed and grabbed my arms, pulling me to him despite me struggling. He pulled me onto his lap so I was straddling him and held me tightly with his arm around my waist.

"You started it," I whispered glaring at him.

He gave me a charming crooked smile that made my heart melt. Who was I kidding? I loved the way he made me violent, I loved the way he held me and pinned me down, and I loved the way he looked at me like I was the only woman in the world he had ever loved. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he leaned forward and kissed me deeply on the lips. We continued to kiss for a few moments before I slowly pulled away.

"You need to rest," I whispered as I crawled away from him. I stood up straight next to the bed and threw my hair out of my face. "We have a meeting with Scrimgeour tomorrow morning."

"Going back to work so soon?" he asked moving to the edge of the bed in front of me. His hands touched my hips and traced the waistband of my pants, then slowly began to push up my shirt. He was looking up at me with dark green eyes that were full of desire and passion.

"Gabriel," I said batting at his hands. I stepped away and went to the bedroom door. "Good night."

Gabriel was standing next to the bed now, smiling at me. "Good night, Cadence."

I closed his bedroom door and walked down the hall to my own room. Sleeping did not come easily. I lay awake for hours thinking about how Sirius didn't trust me, how Gabriel was sleeping down the hall half naked, and how despite believing he was innocent I was still responsible for catching Sirius. Gabriel and I had discussed on the journey home that it was something we should keep to ourselves; no one would believe us if we started to say that Sirius Black was innocent and it was probably a good way to be labeled as Death Eaters again.

Sleep didn't come for hours, and I killed the time by getting up and doing pushes on the bedroom floor. I didn't know how else to burn the energy I seemed to have. After about an hour of doing strength exercises I went and took a hot shower, hoping it would relax me.

When I fell back into bed sleep was almost instantaneous. The bed was warm and comfortable as if someone had been in it, waiting for me. I rolled over and found Gabriel in the bed, which was surprising and yet I didn't feel so. I smiled slightly at him and got comfortable on my side, staring at his dark green eyes as he stared at mine. He sat up, leaning on his elbows and smiled. I couldn't help but smile at him, and when I went to speak he put his fingers to my lips. He didn't say a word as he leaned forward and kissed my lips gently. I let his weight press against me as I laid back, kissing him in return and wrapping my arms around his broad muscular shoulders.

He kissed me with deep passion; it was a burning passion that I only felt when I kissed Gabriel. There was more then love in his kisses, there was lust and desire. He wanted every inch of me to be pressed against every inch of him; there was a desire to explore each other, and a need for the other's touch. Gabriel was a passionate person, affectionate, and I let him take my pain and worries away. It had taken fifteen years for Gabriel and me to be together because of Sirius Black. And even as I lay next to him, the man who always loved me the best and whom I loved, I could only think of Sirius Black. The pain had been gone while we made love; while Gabriel was deep in me, and we were moaning together, moving together as one; but as soon as it was over and Gabriel fell asleep with me in his arms Sirius entered my mind again. _I couldn't forget him._ I felt just like I had years ago when Gabriel would share an intimate kiss despite me being in a relationship with Sirius. I felt like a dirty whore. How twisted was my mind if I couldn't lie next to the man who I actually loved without feeling guilty towards my ex? How much influence did Sirius Black have on my self-perception? How much control did he have over me? He had enough control to cause me constant pain, the bastard. Sirius Black had cut a gash down the center of my heart and now he was throwing salt in the open wound. Even Gabriel couldn't take the pain away as he lay with me, filling me with his passion and desire, his love and sex. Nothing it seemed was every enough.

"Stop thinking," Gabriel whispered in my ear as he pressed into me for the second time. His head was buried in the crook of my neck, kissing my flesh and taking in my scent. I moaned with pleasure as he lifted my hips and pushed into me deeper. He rolled over so I was on top of him, allowing me to take some control in our sexual adventure. "We're enough." He said it before he kissed me deeply and bucked his hips up into me. I couldn't help but smile at him, sitting up as I arched my back and rocking my hips on him nice and slow. He held my hands, allowing me some support, as he watched me with loving eyes. He moaned loudly and sat up, wrapping his arms around me suddenly and holding me tightly against him, he flipped us over again and moaned my name in my ear.

"Cadence," his voice was so tender. "Cadence," we were coming close to climax. "Cadence!" He was shaking me—"Cadence!"

I opened my eyes and sat up in the bed quickly, gasping for breath and looking around startled. Gabriel was standing next to the bed, fully dressed in jeans, a lavender button up shirt, with a dark purple waistcoat and tie. His sleeves were rolled up revealing his strong tattooed forearms. I sighed and fell back in the bed as I tossed my hair out of my face.

"Good dream?" he asked with a smirk. He continued to smile at me as he headed for the door to my bedroom.

"What makes you say that?" I responded as I sat up and moved the sheets off of my body. Gabriel stopped at the bedroom door, his hand on the handle, ready to close it once he left.

"You were moaning," he shrugged.

I didn't respond; what could I possibly say to him? I definitely couldn't tell him I was having a sex dream about him. He would never let that go, and use it as justification for us to actually have sex.

"Come on, love," Gabriel said cocking his head to the hallway. "We have a meeting with the boss."

"Go away," I said throwing a pillow at him. He caught it and came into the room, closing the door behind him with his foot. I smirked as he approached the bed slowly with a dark, but teasing look in his eyes. There was a flutter in my heart that I tried very hard to not reveal with my face. Gabriel could see my weakness though, the moment he smirked again, I knew he could read me like a book. There was no secret I could keep from him, nothing I could hide. He placed one knee on the bed and leaned over me, much like he had in my dream. His hands touched my shoulders and neck, making me quiver. I released a heavy, desire-filled sigh as his lips came close to my neck, tickling my senses and turning on my lust.

"Must have been a good sex dream," he whispered in my ear. I smiled and shoved him away, which caused him to laugh. He grabbed my hands as they lingered on his shoulders and pulled me from the bed so I was standing in front of him. He clapped his hand on my thigh and pulled me tightly against him.

"Who said it was a sex dream?" I asked as I looked up at him, leaning back away from him, but not escaping his arms because they were tightly wrapped around me.

"Your eyes," he said smiling as he leaned down and kissed my exposed collar bone, slowly and very cautiously dragging his lips farther down to the exposed flesh of my breast. I pulled me towards him and kissed up past my collar bone to my neck, then my jaw line. He kissed my ear before he whispered, "We could make your dream into a reality."

"No," I said pulling away and smiling up at him. My hands rubbed against his chest and pulled at the tie that was tucked into his waistcoat. His purple shirt and vest matched his purple eyes today; or did they make his eyes look purple? I would never know the different…"We have to go to work…remember, we have a meeting."

His embrace loosened on me and I moved away, walking towards the bedroom door. "I'll shower and be down in a minute." I took off my shirt as I walked down the hall and dropped it on the floor outside of the bathroom door.

"Damn you! You're a horrid tease Cadence Coleman!" Gabriel shouted down the hall as I entered the bathroom. I leaned my head out, making sure to keep my body well hidden behind the doorframe. Gabriel was standing outside my bedroom door, arms crossed over his muscular chest giving me an ugly eye.

"I think I'm rather good," I said then went into the bathroom, closing the door tightly. I quickly got in the shower and rinsed all of the dirty thoughts from my head. I needed to keep a straight head if I was going to go into work with Gabriel and discuss with Scrimgeour our new assignment. I also had to remind myself not to speak about Sirius Black to Scrimgeour. As I stood in the shower I thought more about Sirius and how to find Peter Pettigrew. Sirius seemed to think that Peter was with Ron Weasley, disguised as his pet rat. How could I get my hands on that bloody rat?

When I got out of the shower Gabriel was not in the bedroom, which revealed me slightly, but also disappointed me. Perhaps I was ready to be with Gabriel, despite finding Sirius again and learning of his innocents. I bit my bottom lip as I got dressed.

_Dressed yet? _

I sighed with annoyance as I looked at myself in the mirror, brushing my hair. Gabriel's voice was in my head asking me if I was ready yet. Even after all of these years, I still didn't block Gabriel from my mind.

_You should._

I opened the bedroom door and shouted down the stairs. "Would you stop it! I'll be done in a moment!"

"You're still naked!" Gabriel yelled from the kitchen.

"I hate you!" I turned and slammed the bedroom door shut then went into the closet, throwing on a black bra, black underwear, and a pair of black slacks. I snapped my fingers and my hair dried instantly, curling smoothly around my shoulders. I threw it out of my face, pulled my boots on and strapped a holster to my thigh. My curved knife slid smoothly into the holster, and I slipped my wand down my left boot. I paused for one moment in front of the mirror to check my reflection and grabbed a black button up shirt from the pile of clean laundry next to the door. I dashed out of the room and slid to a stop in the foyer.

"Gabriel!" I yelled pulling on the shirt and looking for my cloak. "Let's go!"

He appeared from the kitchen looking very suave with his black pea coat on. He buttoned it up as he looked me over. His eyes lingered on my exposed torso, chest, and black bra. He raised his eyebrows at me and smirked.

"You rushed me," I said pulling on my cloak. I began to button up my shirt as Gabriel nodded, shaking his head.

"I would hate to think that you purposely left those buttons undone," he said. I smiled at him but didn't say anything. Once my shirt was buttoned he opened the door and motioned for me to step out before him. I moved out onto the porch and he closed the door tightly behind us. "Do you wish to walk today?"

"Not from here," I said looking out at the country road ahead of us as we made our way down the path towards the front gate of my property.

"I meant through London," he said smoothly as I opened the gate and let him pass. I followed and closed the gate, looking up at the house for a moment. I nodded to him as we began to walk up the dirt road. Gabriel grabbed my hand and Apparated on the spot. I frowned slightly as our bodies were pressed together magically with invisible forces. Our feet struck the ground in a London alley and the world spun around me as I gained my balance. I felt Gabriel's hands on my hips as he waited for me to gain my composure.

"You probably shouldn't be Apparating," I said looking up at him. Gabriel smiled.

"I feel fine," he said. "You sure you're okay?"

"_I'm fine, Gabriel_," I said sternly. "What makes you think Scrimgeour is going to let you come back to work right now anyways? You just got your memory back yesterday."

"And I remember everything," he said with a nod. "From my Mother's death to your numerous kidnappings, our time in Azkaban, and Carrigan's birth. I'm back."

"It' only took a couple of months," I sighed as I rubbed my head.

"I thought after our meeting with Scrimgeour we could go visit Carrigan at Hogwarts," he said softly with his hands deep in his pockets. He wasn't looking at me, as if he were a child who had just asked his parents for a dragon for Christmas. I frowned and shook my head.

"You're just as bad as she is, you know," I said as we walked down the busy street, people squeezing between us occasionally.

"How so?"

"You both can guilt me into anything," I said beaming. Gabriel smiled and nodded as he rubbed his chin.

"She had to learn it from somewhere," he shrugged. I laughed and shook my head as we continued to walk. "And Merlin knows she's the master. She got me to buy that damned griffin for her."

"He is doing fine, by the way," I said. "Carrigan goes down to see him every Saturday."

"And how is Buckbeak doing?"

"You mean since he's sentenced to death?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "Hagrid is doing far worse then Buckbeak. The poor animal doesn't really know what is going on. When I spoke to Carrigan about it a few weeks ago she was furious."

Gabriel nodded. "Well if Buckbeak is in fact innocent that does not surprise me."

On the next corner, we turned and separated in the crowd, heading for the public restrooms that were on the street. I walked into the ladies restroom without hesitation and was not surprised to find a long line of at least twenty women waiting to get into the stalls. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for the line to file down. The women in front of me moved rather quickly, and within two minutes I was waiting outside the fifth stall. The sound of flushing toilets seemed never ending. I suddenly wished Gabriel and I had just Apparated to the office. I really hated using the public entrances for the Ministry. Honestly, whose brilliant idea was it to make the toilets of a public restroom the magical transportation to the Ministry fire places? When I heard the flush of the fifth toilet, I sighed and pushed the door open. There was no one in the stall. I stepped up into the toilet, my boots not getting wet despite the water. I pulled the chain handle of the flush, and as the water started to rush down the toilet into the pipes my body spun and went with it. My stomach turned as my body spun rapidly and then came to a sharp stop as green flames licked and tickled my legs. I stepped out of the fireplace and into the atrium of the Ministry.

Gabriel was already in the atrium, standing towards the center of it, being greeted by numerous coworkers as they walked by him. It had been about a month and a half since his accident, and despite his return, I still wasn't sure if Scrimgeour was going to allow him to come back to work. The Healers had shown some concern when Gabriel's memory returned so quickly, they were expecting it to come back in pieces. They had warned him as he left St. Mungo's that he may still forget things: people's names, codes, dates, random events. Just because he had most of his memory back didn't mean he was all back. The mind was a mysterious thing, and no one really had any idea what had happened to Gabriel's mind.

I approached him and he beamed at me.

"Nice to be back?" I asked.

"Yes," he said placing his hand on the small of my back and ushering me towards the lifts. I looked up at him with raised eyebrows, which caused him to move his hand away from me. "All the attention is a little overwhelming."

"Well that will teach you to have a supernatural episode," I said smartly as I stepped into the lift. Gabriel followed, ignoring my comment, and pushed the button to close the lift doors. We stood in silence as the lift traveled to our floor and when the doors chimed open, Gabriel stepped off first.

As we walked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and into the Auror Headquarters, people continued to greet Gabriel, welcoming him back and congratulating him on a speedy recovery. He shook hands, hugged a few women, and thanked everyone for the well wishes. I silently followed until the attention starting to annoy me. I turned sharply and walked away from the crowd of people around Gabriel, and took another path to Scrimgeour's office.

His secretary stood up as I approached her desk, standing on her toes to see over the line of cubicles. I rolled my eyes as she smiled at me.

"It's nice to have Mr. Quintin back," she said to me.

"Uh, yea, I suppose," I said softly. "Scrimgeour is expecting us."

She nodded and looked back at the crowd of people across the office. Gabriel was breaking free of them and approaching the office. He had unbuttoned his pea coat, and was smiling broadly.

"You are so lucky Miss Coleman," the secretary said with a jealous sigh. "I don't know how you can look at him everyday and not do—"

"I suggest you not finish that sentence," I said rather harshly. I had never in my life been spoken to by a coworker that way about Gabriel. Yes, he was good looking. Yes, he was charming. And yes, nearly every woman in the department wanted to be in my shoes, but honestly, did this woman have no self control?

The secretary gave me a dark glare as she took her seat.

"It was simply a compliment," she said.

"It was a jealous objectifying remark," I retorted. "Trust me, you don't look nearly as much a fool now as you would have if you had finished it."

"Hello Millie," said Gabriel approaching the desk. "I trust all is well?"

"Yes," Millie, the secretary said and she turned to Gabriel. Her ugly glare lingered on me before she turned and slapped a bittersweet smile on her face for Gabriel. "How are you, Gabriel? You had us all worried." She stood up and took his hand, squeezing it. I thought I might gag, so I turned quickly and walked into the Scrimgeour's office without knocking.

"Ah," he said with some surprise. "Hello Miss Coleman." He stood up from his desk and walked around to shake my hand. His eyes were darker then usual, and I could see that he was not very happy about seeing me. Perhaps he was still upset with me about the last time we had seen each other at St. Mungo's. "Where is Gabriel?"

There was a girlish giggle from out in the hall and caused me to frown. Scrimgeour smiled slightly and nodded. "Of course," he said going back to his desk. "Shall we wait for him?"

"Please don't," I said annoyed.

"No need to," said Gabriel coming into the office as he closed the door behind him. I frowned at him as I crossed my arms over my chest. He smiled broadly at my scornful look, and pinched my elbow as he walked by. "Don't be jealous," he whispered. I smacked his hand away and quickly took a seat in front of Scrimgeour's desk, my arms still tightly crossed over my chest.

"Hello Mr. Scrimgeour," said Gabriel extending his hand.

"Welcome back Mr. Quintin," Scrimgeour nodded with a shake of Gabriel's hand.

"It's good to be back, Sir," Gabriel took the seat next to me as Scrimgeour walked around the desk. He took his seat and looked at both of us very seriously. "I'm rather anxious to get back to work."

"Well, Gabriel," Scrimgeour hard a sharp tone to his voice that made me nervous. "I'm not sending you back to work just yet."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but why not?" Gabriel questioned quickly as he moved to the edge of his seat.

"I spoke to your Healers at St. Mungo's," he said easily. "They recommend that you at least take another month off to recover your strength and memory. They're not convinced that your memory has completely returned. Not to mention that you've been in a hospital bed for a month and a half. You're rusty and out of practice."

"What better way for me to get back into the swing of things then in the field?" said Gabriel. "Cadence needs my help finding Black, Sir."

"No," he shook his head. "She doesn't. You've both been pulled from Hogsmeade. We weren't getting anywhere with that assignment."

"Sir, if I may, I think our presence is still needed in Hogsmeade and at Hogwarts," I interjected. "Black just got into the castle a few weeks ago and nearly killed a student he had mistaken for Potter. I'm ninety five percent positive that he is hiding in the Forbidden Forest somewhere. We have not had the opportunity to search the area because of everything that has been happening with Gabriel—"

"Which brings me to my next point, Miss Coleman," Scrimgeour's voice was growing harsher each time he spoke. "You're both excellent Aurors, and the Ministry is lucky to have you—but you're too close."

"Excuse me?" I said.

"You're too close to each other," he whispered. He looked down at his desk with a sight then back up at us. "Cadence you should have continued your work without Gabriel—"

"He's my partner, Sir!" I snapped. Scrimgeour gave me a very nasty look for speaking out of turn and I sighed, leaning back in my chair. I was starting to think there was no point in arguing with the man. He obviously had made up of his mind already.

"Gabriel you're being benched for the next two months, and Cadence you're being assigned a new partner. End of story," Scrimgeour growled. "Millie has your paper work, Cadence. Your new partner is probably in your cubicle by now. Get out of my office. Gabriel there is a mountain of paper work waiting for you at your new cubicle. Are we understood?"

"Yes Sir," Gabriel said standing up and buttoning his pea coat.

"Miss Coleman?" Scrimgeour was giving me a very dirty look because he knew I was not happy, and of the two of us, I was more likely then Gabriel to disobey orders.

"Yes," I hissed standing up. I marched out of the office without another word, Gabriel following me closely.

What Scrimgeour had said was repeating in my mind…Gabriel and I were too close…He was suggesting that our emotional attachment was hindering our work. I bit my bottom lip and kept walking, despite desperately wanting to stop and punch a wall. Perhaps he was right, how else did I explain the sex dream, and the very flirtatious behavior the night before and that morning? I ran my hand through my hair as Gabriel caught up to me and said my name softly. I looked up at him, he was frowning and his eyes were a dark midnight blue. My stomach did a flip flop and I released a sigh.

"It will be fine," he said with a shrug. "In two months we'll be partners again."

"No," I said stopping in the middle of the aisle and looking up at Gabriel. I put my hands on my hips as the cubicle walls around us started to vibrate with a low hum. Gabriel's eyes grew very dark and he grabbed my shoulder with urgency. "We won't! He's separating us because of an emotional bond we have! We've been partners since I was seventeen, of course we would have an emotional bond!"

"I don't think that's the emotional bond he was referring to," Gabriel sighed squeezing my shoulder. "Control yourself, Cadence."

"I don't want to!" I screamed. The cubicle walls began to shake violently, causing a few of them to fall over with cracks up their sides. Gabriel gave me a very nasty glare, which I countered with my own. "This is absolutely ridiculous. I'm offended that he is suggesting we cannot separate our work from our private life. Our emotional bond is appropriate at work and any partner would have been just as concerned as I was—"

"Would any partner take their injured partner home for the night," Gabriel whispered. "Our behavior last night and this morning was not appropriate of two people who work together, and let's not forget your very exhausting dream—"

"It doesn't matter," I said taking a deep breath and glaring at him. "But I can't help find Peter if I have a new partner—"

Gabriel grabbed my elbow and dragged me down the destroyed aisle of cubicles. People were looking at me with horrified looks because I had destroyed a small portion of the office. The walls were being replaced as we walked by, but people were giving me the ugliest looks they could manage. Gabriel turned a corner and walked down the aisle next to the wall of the building. He opened a closet door and threw me into it quickly, following, and then slamming the door shut.

"Are you crazy!" he hissed in a low whisper. I looked around the room and snapped my fingers, making a light appear on the ceiling. He had thrown us into a storage closet full of office supplies. I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest. "You can't go around shaking walls because you're emotionally unstable, and you most certainly cannot talk about Sirius and Peter in front of hundreds of people."

"So hiding in a public closet is supposed to raise less suspicions?"

"Shut up," he retorted. "I can help Sirius—"

I started laughing the moment the words left his lips. "Yea, right."

"We don't have any other choice," Gabriel said. "If he wants our help then I'm the best he's going to get because you're right you can't look for Peter if you have a new partner. The risk is too high."

"Sirius doesn't want our help, he wants my help," I said. "And even then, I'm kind of just helping, no questions asked."

"Well you can't now," Gabriel said. "And I have nothing better to do, so I will do it."

I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. "Sirius is not going to like this."

"He doesn't have much of a choice," Gabriel said.


	30. Lost

There was still snow on the ground despite the warm weather at the beginning of April. It had been nearly a month since I had made it out to see Sirius. I was afraid after so much time he might not be at the Shrieking Shack anymore; he might have found a new place to hide because of his lacking trust in me. Gabriel and I walked through the snow on the forest floor of the woods between Hogsmeade village and the Shrieking Shack slowly at nearly six in the morning. Gabriel had insisted on getting up that early and coming out to see Sirius. He didn't think we should wait any longer to speak with him and traveling in the early morning would be more discrete then later in the day.

The last month had been hell for me. I had gone through five new partners since Gabriel and I were reassigned. I drove the other Aurors nuts—no one wanted to work with me—and Scrimgeour was starting to grow impatient with my childish behavior. He was threatening to bench me, like he had Gabriel. I had told him, in a rather heated argument a week ago, to go ahead and bench me. It wasn't like I was doing anything productive switching partners each week. At least, that's what I told Scrimgeour. Truthfully, because of the switching partners I was able to focus a great deal of work on investigating Peter Pettigrew at home. While Gabriel was just as concerned with finding Pettigrew, he was not as enthusiastic as I was. We had gotten into an argument about it last night.

"You're going to lose your job at the Ministry!" Gabriel yelled through the kitchen.

"I'm not going to lose my job!" I retorted. "I'm getting my work done—"

"You're not doing any work," he interrupted. "You're acting like a child to scare off every new partner Scrimgeour assigns you. Soon he's going to assign you to someone who won't take your crap and you'll be stuck with them."

"That's fine," I said crossly. "I'm getting work done here. That's what really matters."

"Yes, finding Pettigrew is important, but what are you going to do when you lose your job?" Gabriel said coming to me.

"Gabriel," I said looking up at him very seriously. "I'm not going to lose my job. I'm too important of an asset to the Ministry for them to fire me. The same goes for you. Besides, when we catch Pettigrew, I'm sure the Ministry will be thrilled."

"You're being arrogant, Cadence," he said harshly as he leaned against the kitchen table. "And it's not like you. You're becoming consumed with finding Pettigrew. I don't know how thrilled the Ministry will be when we find him because you're going against orders and making life hell for everyone in the department."

I shrugged and turned away from Gabriel. "I warned Scrimgeour that I would only work with you. He brought this on himself."

"Cadence?"

I blinked and looked up at Gabriel as snow flakes fell off the tree above us onto his face. I frowned slightly and pushed my hair out of my face. I had been reflecting on the argument from yesterday and how Gabriel was probably right. I shouldn't act like such a child at the office. I should try to work with whoever Scrimgeour assigned to me.

"Yes?"

"You looked out of it," he said as she we stopped in front of the gate of the Shrieking Shack.

"I was just thinking you're right about work," I whispered looking down at my hands. "I'm just mad at Scrimgeour for reassigning us, benching you and giving me a new partner. It's not fair—"

Gabriel took my shoulders and turned me to face him. "I love you," he interrupted. "And if that gets in the way of our job then its better we're not partners."

I shook my head. "Did you ever stop to think that it's our love that makes us so good?"

Gabriel smiled and stroked my cheek. "We don't make the rules, Cadence. We just have to follow them." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. I pulled away from him with a small smile and hopped the fence.

"Since when are you one to follow the rules, Gabriel?" I questioned looking over my shoulder. The question made Gabriel smile and he followed my lead, jumping the fence, then tracking through the snow after me. He caught up to me as I turned the corner of the house, heading for the back entrance. When I looked over my shoulder at him, I saw that he was melting our tracks from the snow behind him. I frowned slightly, I should have thought of that. We didn't want anyone to know we were here.

When we reached the back porch, I climbed up over the railing and onto it. Gabriel followed and we slowly approached the back door. I turned to him suddenly, running into his chest. He looked down at me with raised eyebrows; his eyes were a twinkling dark green that day. They made my heart skip a beat as I bit my bottom lip.

"Maybe you should wait out here," I whispered. "Remember what happened the last time you two saw each other."

"Yea," Gabriel nodded. "And I'm kind of itching for a rematch."

"That's my point—"

"—I didn't come all this way just to stand on the back porch as you talk to Sirius!" Gabriel hissed in a harsh whisper. I gritted my teeth and rolled my eyes.

"Fine," I said. "But you'd better control yourself. We didn't come all this way for you to beat the crap out of him."

I wiggled the handle of the backdoor and found it unlocked. Gabriel moved around me and held his wand tightly in his hand. He nodded his head and I opened the door for him slightly, he went in first, wand raised and I followed, closing the door tightly and quietly behind me.

"Put your wand away," I whispered. He shook his head at me. "I'll lead. Sirius won't murder me…"

Gabriel agreed and allowed me to lead him through the house to the front room. The room was still covered in dust, which made me sneeze as we made to mount the stairs. Gabriel raised his eyebrows at me and I shrugged. My sneeze alarmed Sirius upstairs because a large black dog came barreling down the stairs at us. I recognized it instantly as Sirius in his dog form. He jumped onto the wall and bounded off of it, over my head and onto Gabriel, tackling him to the ground.

"Sirius!" I screamed as I dropped the backpack I had slung over my shoulder. "Sirius, stop it!"

In the blink of an eye, Sirius transformed from his dog form to a human. He was on top of Gabriel, pinning to him the ground. Once he was completely transformed he slugged Gabriel clean across the face. I dived forward and grabbed Sirius' collar, pulling him off of Gabriel. I threw Sirius against the wall and pointed my wand at him.

"Why'd you bring him here?" he sneered.

"Enough!" I shouted.

Sirius rolled his eyes and shrugged, lowering his hands and leaning against the wall. I turned, confident that Sirius had given up on the fight, and went to Gabriel, helping him up. Gabriel was looking at Sirius with loathing, making my skin crawl. I felt like I was nineteen again—caught between Sirius and Gabriel who constantly fought over and about me. I bent down and picked up the food that had spilled from the bag. I shoved it back in and threw it at Sirius.

"Here," I snapped. "You still look thin."

Sirius sighed, but said nothing, and mounted the stairs. I looked at Gabriel who still looked angry.

"Well," I whispered. "I guess that could have been worse."

"Yea," he nodded fixing his shirt. "I could have killed him."

I rolled my eyes and mounted the stairs to follow Sirius.

He was in the bedroom, sitting on the floor next to the bed eating the food I had brought him. He looked up at me, noticing that Gabriel was trailing behind and gave me a very ugly glare.

"Why did you bring him?" he questioned. "I have no interest in working with both of you—"

"I know that you hate him," I said sharply. "Because you feel that he has replaced you, threatened your masculinity or whatever—but you have to get over it, Sirius. We need his help. I've been reassigned at the Ministry, Gabriel has been benched. I have a new partner and I'm not going to be able to hide something like this from them, it's too risky. Gabriel is going to be looking for Pettigrew more then I am."

"I already know where he is," Sirius said standing up. "Forget it, I don't need either of your help—especially his."

"I'm here now," said Gabriel walking in. "Not that it will stop you from insulting me."

"If you were any other man, I'd ring your neck, Gabriel," Sirius said harshly. "You're a bastard and a liar—"

"Enough!" I snapped. "You do need our help, Sirius, because I know you well enough to know that when you catch Pettigrew you're going to kill him—"

"He destroyed my life!" Sirius yelled. "You're damn right that I'm going to kill him."

"That is not going to prove your innocence," I said glaring at him. "Gabriel and I will catch him. We'll go to Hogwarts right now and speak with Ron Weasley. We will take Pettigrew to the Ministry, then I will personally come to get you once it is proven you are innocent."

Sirius studied me for a few moments and nodded his head.

"Fine," he said. "Better get to it then."

I sighed and nodded. "Alright," I whispered and turned grabbing Gabriel's coat. "Let's go."

We descended the stairs and when we reached the bottom I looked up at him with a sharp glare. "Hold still." Gabriel didn't say or do anything. I took hold of his shoulders and Apparated out of the dusty living room. As we disappeared from the Shrieking Shack I saw Sirius' figure standing at the top of the stairs, watching us. My vision blurred and I closed my eyes tightly as our bodies were squished together and then pulled apart as we landed on the dirt path in front of the Hogwarts gates. I opened my eyes and sighed, catching my breath.

Gabriel pulled away from me and opened the gates allowing me onto the grounds. He closed the gates as I started to make my way up the gravel path to the castle.

"We'll have to speak to Dumbledore, first," said Gabriel once he caught up to me. I nodded my head to acknowledge his statement but kept walking. "Cadence," he said my name softly as we entered the castle. There were students bustling about and the entrance hall and Great Hall.

"Yes?" I asked looking at Gabriel for a moment. I kept moving through the crowd of students who had stopped and parted to form an aisle for Gabriel and me to walk down. I looked at them with raised eyebrows as we walked by and realized that they weren't staring at Gabriel so much as me. I pushed my hair over my shoulder and looked around.

Young kids were looking at me like I was the plague. I frowned slightly and looked at Gabriel, trying to ignore the prying eyes. He was looking at the students just as confused as me. Out of habit, Gabriel gripped his wand tightly in his hand and pushed his cloak back with his left hand to put a hand on the hilt of his knife. His actions made me smile slightly.

"Gabriel, they're a bunch of kids," I said touching his hand. He blinked at me.

"Don't doubt anything, Cadence," he said as we reached the steps. I looked over my shoulder with raised eyebrows, wondering what could possibly be going on to make the students stop and stare at us like we were leppards.

Once we were up the stairs I remembered Gabriel had said my name when we came in. "What were you going to ask me?"

"Hm?" he asked looking at me. He had been looking over his shoulder as I spoke. "What?"

"What were you going to ask me when we got here?" I asked.

"When are you planning on telling Sirius, Carrigan is his daughter?" I frowned and gave him a sharp look with my emerald green eyes. We had never discussed telling Sirius that Carrigan was his child; we had only discussed how he assumed she was Gabriel's. "He has a right to know," Gabriel said before I could answer.

"Last summer you wanted me to change her last name to yours so she'd be better protected from people staring at her like they just did when we got here," I snipped. "Now you want me to tell Sirius that she's his? Are you crazy?"

"He has a right to know," Gabriel repeated. "And it's not like he's a bad person. He was arrested for something he was innocent of and thrown into Azkaban without a trial. He didn't leave you when he found out—"

"He had already left me," I said quickly as I stopped in the hallway. "I don't know what I would have done if Sirius hadn't gone to Azkaban, but I promise you, Gabriel I would have had a very difficult time going to tell Sirius, who had just dumped me after being together for nearly five years, that I was pregnant with his kid."

Gabriel frowned at me and nodded his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "It was just something I was wondering."

"I'll worry about that later," I sighed. "When we catch Pettigrew and Sirius has the opportunity to be back in Carrigan's life."

He nodded appearing to accept the comment as reasonable. He patted my shoulder and turned, continuing down the corridor.

"What do you suppose that was all about in the entrance hall?" I asked once we were mounting another flight of stairs. "You don't suppose something happened with Carrigan?"

"I'm almost sure something has happened," he said glancing at me. "Why else would they stare at us, particularly you? Perhaps rumors of who her Father is have finally spread—"

"—like wild fire," said a voice.

I turned quickly, lifting my wand. Remus Lupin stood behind at the bottom of the staircase with his hands in the air.

"Didn't mean to startle you," he said meekly. I sighed and lowered my wand.

"Sorry, Remus," I said. "You shouldn't sneak up on us."

"Yes," he nodded with a calm laugh. "You'd think I'd know that by now."

I couldn't help but smile at my old friend as he mounted the stairs and joined us as the staircase moved, switching floors.

"Rumors of Carrigan have been spreading?" Gabriel asked once he shook Remus' hand.

"I'm afraid so," Remus frowned. "Since Black broke in last month rumors of Carrigan being his daughter began to circulate. I'm surprised it took this long for the rumors to spread. I thought the students would pick up on her parentage when she first arrived."

"I'm sure they did," I whispered. "They just didn't say anything about it till now."

"Carrigan has been dealing with it well," Remus said. "Reminded me of you, Cadence, from when we were in school. The things she's had to put up with are intolerable and she's landed a few detentions because of the fights that have broken out—"

"Fights?" I questioned quickly. "Why haven't I heard about any of this?"

Remus shrugged with sad eyes. "The Headmaster has been leaving campus a great deal, perhaps it slipped through the cracks."

"Unacceptable," I snapped.

"It is possible that Carrigan was told to write to you about it," Gabriel said looking at me with clam eyes. "At least we know she's fighting—"

"Of course she is! We spent the entire damned holiday training with her! If she's using her magic to overpower other students I'm going to ring her neck," I hissed loudly as we reached the seventh floor corridor.

"It is something you used to do all the time, Cadence," Gabriel reminded me. I rolled my eyes and began to march down the corridor quickly, intent on speaking to Dumbledore about Carrigan's harassment. Gabriel took my arm and squeezed it lightly.

"Let's not forget why we're here, Cadence," he said peering at me with those dark memorizing eyes. I sighed and nodded, remembering myself and why we were there to see Dumbledore. I may have to speak to him about Carrigan's treatment later.

I was surprised when I saw Harry Potter walking down the corridor towards us. He saw me and raised his eyebrows with surprise as we approached each other. His friends, Hermione and Ron were with him. I looked up at Gabriel and then back at the three friends.

"Harry!" I called as I approached him more quickly.

"Hi Cadence," he said looking at me with curious eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to speak to the Headmaster," I said quickly as my eyes fell on Ron Weasley who was standing behind Harry. "Ron, right?"

"Yes," he responded nervously.

"I was wondering if I could barrow your rat for awhile?" I asked easily.

"Scabbers?" Ron said confused. "Why would you want to barrow my rat?"

"We just need to see him for a moment," said Gabriel. "If you'll please?"

"Well he's missing," said Ron scornfully. I looked at Gabriel with nervous eyes and he wore a similar expression on his face. "Hermione's cat has been chasing him—"

"Ron!" Hermione said crossly. "You've lost Scabbers! Stop blaming Crookshanks—"

"Cats chase rats, Hermione!" Ron retorted. "And you have not stopped him—"

Hermione opened her mouth to respond as tears welled up in her chocolate brown eyes.

"Enough," I said quickly. "How long has it been since you've seen Scabbers Ron?"

"Since I was attacked by Sirius Black," Ron responded easily.

A dark hole of worry formed in my stomach as I stepped back from the three students. Remus was looking at me with curious eyes, matching Harry's; they were both wondering why I was so interested in Ron's pet rat. I looked up at Gabriel who looked concerned. If Pettigrew had been away from Ron for a month then it was completely possible that he had run far away from Hogwarts by now. I sighed loudly and cursed as I moved away from the students, heading back for the stairs. There was no point in seeing Professor Dumbledore if Peter Pettigrew was no longer on the Hogwarts campus. Gabriel and I were going to have to start searching else where—Pettigrew had a month's head start on us…he could have been anywhere at that point.


	31. Coward

Over the Easter holiday Carrigan only came home for half of it. She decided she wanted to return to school early, half way through the week, to catch up on homework. It was nice to have her back in the house with me. Gabriel had taken up permanent residences because he still experienced memory laps from time to time. He had requested the week off from work to stay home with Carrigan while I continued to work. Every day when I came home I found them sitting in the backyard under Carrigan's favorite tree, on a bench swing he had hung for her.

It made me happy to see them together. I stood in the frame of the back door and watched them swing together, talking quietly and laughing. It was those moments that made me think of Sirius and his relationship with Carrigan. Gabriel of course had been right a few weeks ago at Hogwarts; Sirius did have a right to know that Carrigan was his daughter. I was afraid of what would happen when he found out though. I was afraid he would hate me even more—because then Gabriel really did replace him, not just to me but to his daughter. I was afraid of how much it would hurt Sirius to know that he was not a part of her life. What if Carrigan had no interest in getting to know him, because to her, Gabriel was enough of a father?

_Hi Mom,_ said Carrigan's voice in my head. I blinked and looked up to see Gabriel and Carrigan beaming at me on the swing. I smiled slightly and stepped out into the yard, closing the backdoor behind me.

"You're growing stronger every day," I said when I reached the swing. I pinched Carrigan's cheek and sat down between her and Gabriel on the swing. He smoothly wrapped his arm around my shoulders and smiled down at me.

"I'm practicing everyday," Carrigan said eagerly. "I was hoping that if you thought I was strong enough I could learn to conjure things this summer."

"We'll have to see," Gabriel said wisely before I could answer.

Carrigan scowled at him, hoping that her frown would change his mind.

"That's what you always say, Gabe," she sighed.

"He's right," I said before she could bend him to her will with her scowling look too quickly. "We'll have to see. Conjuring is a very advanced skill."

"You learned how to do it when you were fifteen. I'm already more advanced then you were at my age," she insisted. I shook my head with a small smile. She had a valid point, but I was afraid of her becoming arrogant with her magic.

"Carrigan," I whispered her name as I peered at her with my dark green eyes. "Remember that your magic is a gift, and you must be patient with it."

"I just want to be as good as you two," she sighed leaning back against the swing.

"You have time to learn those skills Carri," Gabriel said. "War is not before you. There is no rush to train the way we did. We were taught with haste because of the war we were caught in…you have time and you should take advantage of it. Perfect what you have already been given."

Carrigan stood up from the swing and kicked some dirt in front of us. The wind caught the dust and blew it steadily over the grass away from us. She crossed her arms over her chest as she sighed loudly.

"I'm growing broad with what I have," she shrugged.

"You can't become arrogant," Gabriel said leaning forward. "If you become arrogant you will certainly be caught by your Grandfather's poison."

Carrigan frowned and rolled her eyes. "Please Gabriel," she said. "I'm not going to become a Death Eater."

As I looked at my little girl, I suddenly couldn't help but be afraid that I had done her wrong. I had raised her wrong and now she was beginning to head towards a path of Dark Magic. She craved power and magically abilities. I was concerned that her desires of such things would attract her to Dark Magic, much like they had my Father.

Gabriel squeezed my shoulder, as if to comfort me. I looked up at him and he gave me a reassuring smile. He knew what I was saying and was attempting to comfort my worrying thoughts. His touch only did so much, but it was enough to make me remember all the good Carrigan believed in and defended.

"Hey, Mom," she said to me. I looked away from Gabriel's peaceful green eyes to Carrigan's dark blue ones. I sighed as I was reminded of Sirius Black. The look in Carrigan's eyes was that of desperation and pain, something I had seen the last time I had seen Sirius.

"Yes?"

"Does Dad know about me yet?" she asked cautiously.

"No," I whispered. "He's unfortunately under the impression that you are Gabriel's child."

"What? Why would you tell him that?"

"I didn't tell him that, Carrigan," I said. "He made an assumption based on jealousy."

"Oh," Carrigan said with a deep frown. "Well maybe you should make the assumption true."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "We've had this discussion before, Carri," Gabriel said before I could reply. "Your Mother and I aren't the marrying type."

"I still don't get it though," she said with a shrug. "If you love each other why not marry each other?"

"Because you don't marry someone just because of you love them," I responded.

"And I may love your Mother, but I find her rather intolerable," Gabriel smirked. I gave him a dirty look and he squeezed my shoulder again to assure me that he was just teasing to get under my skin.

"Most people find her intolerable," Carrigan agreed with a frank smile and nod.

"Hey!" I said. Carrigan came back to the swing and sat down next to me, hugging me around the waist.

"I was just kidding, Mom," she pleaded. I rolled my eyes and wrapped an arm around her, patting her back as she laid her head on my chest.

"Why are you so adamant that we get married?" Gabriel asked.

"I just think you two are lying to yourselves and you're both incapable of allowing yourselves to be happy."

Gabriel laughed. "I think we're both terrified of commitment. One of us more then the other—"

"Excuse me?" I said looking up at him. He smiled down at me, making me melt and grow warm with mushy lovey-dovey feelings. I gave him a nasty look as he continued to stare at me with the love and devotion that I craved.

"I don't blame you," he whispered stroking my hair behind my ear.

Carrigan coughed loudly and pulled away from me. "Do you want me to leave you two alone?"

"What?" I looked at her quickly. "What, no."

Carrigan laughed. "Mom, you won't let yourself be happy with anyone. If you're afraid of hurting Father's feelings I think you're far beyond that. You shouldn't worry about what he's going to think influence what you do with your life now. Besides, he already thinks you and Gabriel together—which you are, even if you won't put a title to it. You two have been together so long you might as well be married…why not make it official?"

"Because," Gabriel responded. "To commit ourselves just for the sake of societal norms only makes a mockery out of our love for each other. Your Mother and I share a bond that is much deeper then love. It is magical and our destiny for me to be her Guardian and her my student. Our love has destroyed lives—"

"Are you afraid that marrying each other, making it official, will destroy more?"

"There's not telling what our actions will do," I whispered. "But we must live with the consequences of those actions. Future students have been removed from Gabriel's path because of our love for each other. The higher powers that be have determined he is an unfit Guardian now for anyone but me because we have an unnatural dependency on each other."

"Future students?" Carrigan repeated quizzically.

"My daughter," Gabriel replied. "She died. Divinity, your cousin, was lost to evil…we don't want to risk you falling victim to our curse."

"How would I? At this point, I'm pretty involved in your forbidden love—"

"You're not a result of it, you are not involved. Gabriel and I think you may be his third student," I said quickly to Carrigan's curious expression. "We don't want to risk anything that would remove you from that path."

"So you're not getting married because of me?"

I shook my head. "No, of course not. Like I've told you before, it's a much more complicated issue then just our forbidden love."

Carrigan sighed, still seeming unsatisfied with our answers. I gave her a weak smile. "Carrigan, if you're this upset over our happiness, I promise you we're happy, well, at least I am." I looked over my shoulder at Gabriel who gave Carrigan a reassuring smile.

"I am happy as well," he said. "I know the two finest, most beautiful women in the country and I get to be a part of their lives. Trust me, Carrigan, I am happy."

She nodded her head slowly. "Alright, I suppose."

I studied her, giving her an all knowing look and waited for her to speak more. I stared her down until she turned her eyes away, then finally gave in and spoke her mind.

"Alright! It's not just that," she sighed giving me a nasty glare, which made me smirk. She hesitated for a moment. "I kind of want a sister."

This caused me to laugh lightly. "What?"

"I know maybe at this point it wouldn't mean very much because I'm eleven and we wouldn't be very close…but I want a sister."

I frowned slightly. "Carrigan, it's very difficult for me to have children. Even if Gabriel and I were married or at least together…the chances of me having another child are practically nonexistent. I wasn't even supposed to be able to have you."

Carrigan frowned deeply. "Right," she sighed.

I took her hand and squeezed it tightly. She returned the squeeze and smiled up at me. "We're strong girls, Mom."

"The strongest," I said putting my forehead to hers. "I love you."

Carrigan wrapped her arms around me, giving me a tight hug. When she pulled away from me she jumped off the swing and went to hug Gabriel. He kissed her cheek with affection.

"I'm going to go into the basement and practice what we learned over Christmas holiday," she said smiling.

"Alright," I said. "We'll have dinner in a little while."

"I'll help cook if you'd like," she beamed.

"Sounds good," Gabriel said pinching her cheek. Carrigan turned and walked away to the house without another word. I sighed and leaned against Gabriel as we watched her disappear into the country house. When she was gone from view, Gabriel lifted my chin and looked me sternly in the eyes. I sat up slightly, puzzled by his expression.

"What?" I questioned.

He pulled me to him and kissed my lips passionately as his hand held my cheek and slid carefully down my neck, tickling my flesh and senses with his fingertips. His tongue traced my lips before parting them and entering my mouth to play with my tongue. Love flowed between us, exchanging between our lips. The passionate, lustful kissing made a heat rise from between my legs creating sexual desire deep within me.

I pulled away reluctantly and Gabriel sighed, giving me a sad smile as his hand remained on my neck, tracing circles against my flesh. I looked up at him with desperate, pained eyes. He knew he was tearing me to pieces despite how much I wanted him to love me. I touched his hand and squeezed it, then brought it to my lips. I kissed his fingertips gently as I kept my eyes on him, not breaking our intense stare. Gabriel sighed with pleasure and grabbed my head, bringing me to him again, kissing me straight on the mouth with lustful desire. I couldn't help but smile and kiss him in return.

"I love you," he whispered in my ear as his lips ran up my jaw line. He bit my ear playfully, causing me to catch my breath. "And I am happy that you will have me in any way."

I tilted his head back up, guiding his lips to mine so I could kiss him as I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders.

_Cause that is exactly what I want to see_, said Carrigan's voice in my head. Her comment made me jump and quickly pull away from Gabriel.

"What?" he asked confused. I looked to the house immediately, glaring to see Carrigan standing in the doorframe laughing. I rolled my eyes.

"Excuse me while I go kick my cheeky daughter's ass," I said standing up off the swing. Gabriel grabbed my hand so I couldn't walk away. He stood up and pulled me against him, wrapping an arm around my waist as his free hand brushed my hair out of my face.

"Will you have me?" he whispered looking down at me.

"Of course," I smiled touching his cheek. "I haven't gotten rid of you yet, have I?"

Gabriel laughed and nodded his head. "Alright," he said stealing a kiss from me quickly. "I'll make dinner, you teach Carrigan a lesson." He slapped my butt playfully as I pulled away, causing me to give him a dirty look over my shoulder as I made my way through the long grass back towards the house. He smiled broadly as he trailed behind me, knowing very well that his playfulness was teasing me to the extreme.

Carrigan saw me approaching the house and dived out the doorframe of the kitchen. When I reached the backdoor I saw that she had just disappeared down the stairs into the basement, not closing the door behind her. I made my way down into the basement where Carrigan was standing the far corner, back to the wall, expecting me.

"You're a snot," I said with a smirk when reached the basement floor.

"Apple doesn't fall too far from the tree," she responded.

"Come on," I said motioning for her come at me. "Let's see what you've got."

Carrigan and I had never trained before. Over the summer holiday she had always trained with Gabriel. After all, he was the expert. Carrigan seemed hesitant to fight with me, but I motioned for her to come at me again and she sighed, and then ran straight at me. She made to tackle me, but I bent down, causing her to land on my back, then stood up straight flipping her over onto the ground. She landed on her back hard and let a groan.

"That was not fair," she sighed.

"All's fair in love and war," I said.

"That explains your relationship with Gabriel!"

Before I could grab her, Carrigan jumped up feet first and kicked me in the stomach, sending me backwards into a wall. She grabbed my arms and with all of her strength pinned me against the basement wall. She lifted her knee into my stomach and slammed her elbow down onto the crook of my neck. My knees gave and I fell to the ground in front of her feet.

I pulled my wand from my boot and lifted it up, placing the tip against her neck. Carrigan froze instantly and stepped back. I pressed my wand into her neck as I stood up, throwing my hair out of my face.

"Where is your wand?" I asked.

She scolded and continued to step away from me. I let her go, only because this was a training fight, not a real one. I dropped my wand to my side as her chest heaved, catching her breath.

"Upstairs," she whispered.

"You should never be without," I said sternly. "That's the first thing you should have learned as a witch."

"What's the second thing?"

"Always have a knife on you," I responded.

Carrigan nodded her head slowly. "Alright," she whispered. I went to her, and she tensed her body, not sure if we were still training or not.

"Gabriel is cooking dinner," I said patting her shoulder. I kissed her forehead. "Go ahead and help."

She nodded and turned without saying another word, heading straight up the stairs back to the kitchen. I sighed and looked around the basement. It reminded me of the basement Gabriel and I had trained in when he kidnapped me seventeen years ago. The walls were decorated with various weapons, from whips to throwing stars. I crossed my arms as I approached a mannequin well hidden in the darkest corner of the basement. It had been something Lily Potter had built for me our seventh year. The mannequin had a charm on it so upon destruction it would reassemble allowing for more practice. I had destroyed that ridiculous mannequin too many times to count, especially when I grew frustrated with Gabriel or Sirius. It was better to blow up the mannequin with my mind then the men in my life. I tilted my head to the side and concentrated on the mannequin. There was a loud explosion as a shockwave expelled from the center of my body and collided with the mannequin, destroying it into dust. I smiled with a sigh of relief. I still had it in me. As I mounted the stairs and made my way upstairs I heard the mannequin repairing itself. Despite being destroyed to dust, it magically repaired and return to its original state. It was something I had cherished, not just because it was a useful training tool, but because Lily had made it for me. It reminded me of her and her kindness.

When I arrived upstairs Gabriel was standing next to the stove, Carrigan was no where to be seen. When I grew closer I saw that Carrigan was between Gabriel and the stove. He was holding her hand, helping her make a perfect omelet.

"You carefully lift this side and flip it over onto the other," he said. "Nice and easy."

"I think I have it," she said. "You don't need to hold my hand."

Gabriel stepped away from the stove and crossed his arms over his chest as he raised his eyebrows. "Forgive me, Miss Independent."

She gave him a smart look over her shoulder, then turned back to her omelet.

"You had to make eggs?" I asked as I crinkled my nose with disgust. Gabriel nodded his head.

"Carri's favorite," he replied grabbing my belt loops and pulling me to him. "Since it's her last night home I thought we should have what she likes."

"Oh," I smiled. "And what should I have?"

I saw a moment of lustful flash in Gabriel's eyes and a gleeful smile crossed his lips. If it weren't for Carrigan standing a few feet away I'm sure he would have made some sexually charged comment out loud, instead he channeled me with Legilimency.

_Me, if you'd like. I'm told I taste very good._

"Yea," I laughed. "I'm sure."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight against his chest. Carrigan was sliding her omelet onto a plate. It was over stuffed with vegetables and cheese, overflowing onto the plate. She cut it in half with her spatula, then pushed a piece onto a plate. She picked both of them up and stopped to stare at me and Gabriel wrapped in each other's arms.

"I suppose I don't understand why you're not married when you act like a married couple," she said with a sigh. She walked by us and put the plates on the table. "Mom, do you want me to make you something?"

"No," I said pulling out of Gabriel's arms. "I'll make myself something."

"Like I said outside, Carrigan," Gabriel said going to the table as I went to the refrigerator. "It would me a mockery of our love."

"You're saying that your love transcends all human implications of it?" Carrigan asked smartly. "That your love is not something mortal people experience and it's impossible to define your love with traditional social rituals?"

"Where are you learning all of this stuff?" I questioned closing the refrigerator and looking at her sharply.

"I read in my free time," Carrigan shrugged.

"You know you're eleven, right?" Gabriel asked. "You're supposed to be out having fun—not reading and learning to become an Auror in your free time."

"I _like_ reading, Gabriel," Carrigan responded. "You and Mom decided to start training me and told me to practice. Besides, I like being smart."

"Well nobody likes a smarty pants," I said as I made myself a turkey sandwich. I came to the table and sat down next to Carrigan, across from Gabriel.

"I didn't say I would be a smarty pants," Carrigan said. "Just smart. I'm not arrogant."

I looked at her with raised eyebrows. "It's always arrogant people who say they're arrogant," I warned.

Carrigan sighed and set her fork down. "Okay, fine. I'm responsible and take pride in being well educated. I see where you're going with this and it's not worth it."

"Really?" I questioned with a smirk. "Where am I going with this, if you're so smart?"

"You're going to start lecturing me about me irresponsible with my magic."

"No," I shook my head. "I think I said all I needed to in the basement."

"What happened in the basement?" Gabriel asked very carefully.

"Nothing," Carrigan responded before I could. She turned her glaring eyes from me to look upon Gabriel. When their eyes met her dark cold look became soft and warm. She could not be angry with him. "I just wasn't prepared for the fight."

"Exactly," I said. "You were arrogant, thinking you had me beat which caused you to forget the most fundamental thing—_your wand_—"

"I had just come in from outside, how was I supposed to know you were going to come down and fight with me? I went down there to practice by myself—"

"—Why were you practicing without your wand? You were being careless, arrogant and unprepared—"

"I AM NOT ARROGANT!" Carrigan shouted as the wooden floorboards of the kitchen creaked and split open. A gigantic crack had formed in the wood directly beneath the table, as if a huge tree root had grown underneath the house and destroyed the foundation. Silence fell around the kitchen as Carrigan looked down at the ground in horrified shock. She stood up from her chair instantly and walked out of the room, looking furious and ashamed. I sighed and put my head in my hands, pulling at my hair.

"I'll go talk to her," Gabriel said standing up.

"IF EITHER OF YOU COME UP HERE I'LL SPLIT THE ENTIRE HOUSE!" Carrigan shouted from up the stairs. I cringed as I looked up at Gabriel with wide eyes.

"When did she become such an obnoxious teenager?" I hissed gripping the edge of the table. Gabriel sighed and looked at me.

"Obviously, she is very mature for her age," he said.

"Yes!" I snapped. "A snotty wise ass—"

"Who is just like you," Gabriel smiled. "You were a pain in my ass when you were a teenager."

"I still am," I said sticking out my tongue.

Gabriel smiled as she shook his head and picked up the plates off the table. He made his way to the sink and began to wash them. I stood up and picked up the pan that was on the stove, placing in the sink next to him. He handed me the wet dishes he just cleaned and I began to dry them. He looked down at me with smiling eyes, making me feel wanted; I looked away from his intense stare and bit my bottom lip. I felt like I wasn't good enough for him—he deserved better. He did and so did Sirius. They deserved to be with someone who wasn't afraid of being with them; who wasn't afraid of losing herself to them; who wasn't a coward.

My eyes drifted up to the ceiling, where above the kitchen I could hear Carrigan pacing in her bedroom. I bit my lip and placed the dried dishes on the counter then turned and leaned against it.

"I don't want her to be a coward," I whispered crossing my arms over my chest.

Gabriel looked at me very seriously. "She's not." I looked up at him with tears on my cheeks, which caused him to step towards me, hold my face and wipe my flesh. "Cadence, she's not. And you are anything but a coward."

"If I weren't a coward I would have left Sirius long before he even asked me to marry him," I said shaking my head as I started to lean away from Gabriel. "I would have left him for you. Or I would have married him—then I would have divorced him—then I'd be with you—"

"Cadence!" Gabriel yelled over my ranting while holding my shoulders tightly. "Cadence Coleman you are not a coward. You have seen dark horrifying things; you have sacrificed yourself for the ones you love; and now you are raising a beautiful daughter while her Father is known as a mass-murderer. _You are not a coward, Cadence_. I don't love cowards, and I _love_ you."

I pulled away from him and sighed deeply, trying to catch my breath. I wiped my cheeks and walked away from Gabriel towards the front hall. I heard him follow me, but he didn't say anything.

"I'm just going to talk to her," I said stopping at the base of the stairs and touching his chest. "I'm just going to talk."

He sighed. "Alright, but if your house splits open that's on you."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks," I said as I turned and mounted the stairs to go up to Carrigan's room.


	32. Confession

The house was still standing the next morning when Carrigan, Gabriel and I left for the train station but Carrigan and I weren't speaking to each other. When I had arrived in her bedroom she threatened to split the house again, trying to keep to her word.

"You're not going to split the house," I told her crossly. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" she glared at me as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"I don't know when you became such a smart ass teenager, but I'm sure it happened sometime between last September and now," I snapped back at her. "I came up here to tell you not to make the same mistakes I did. Don't be a coward when it comes to love. I am an excellent witch, and excellent Auror and I know you will be too. You are an excellent young witch already, Carrigan. But you can be an excellent woman also. Don't be afraid of love, friendship and trust. Follow your instincts, but be an extraordinary woman, not just an extraordinary witch."

I nodded my head once with approval, mostly to reassure myself that I had said everything I wanted to. Carrigan was silent as she looked at the floorboards of her bedroom. She was rubbing her toes together, pigeon toed, and childlike. I took her silence as an acknowledgment of my comment and turned to leave.

"Mom," she said as I opened the bedroom door. I paused and looked at her. "You're only a coward now because you're still not with him, because you're afraid of getting hurt. Just leap…he loves you."

I couldn't help but smile. "I know," I whispered. "You should start packing."

I turned and left the bedroom after that. There was no point of getting into the conversation about my relationship with Gabriel again. We loved each other…what else did we need?

"Finish out the school year strong," Gabriel advised as we walked down the dirt path away from Hogsmeade towards the gates of Hogwarts. "Don't do anything stupid now, you need to focus on your end of year exams."

"Alright," Carrigan sighed with some annoyance as Gabriel pushed open the gate for her. "I'll do fine."

I smiled and folded my arms over my chest, watching her as she readjusted her bag on her shoulder. She looked up at Gabriel with smiling dark blue eyes and stood on her toes as she threw her arms around his broad shoulders. Gabriel embraced her tightly, picking her up of the ground to stand up straight and squeeze her.

"I love you, Gabe," she beamed as she leaned her head back.

"I love you too, Carri," he whispered as he placed her back on the ground and kissed her forehead. She looked at me for a moment and motioned for Gabriel to lean his head down to her. He did so, but she still had to stand on her toes to whisper in his ear. I gave them a suspicious look as they pulled away from each other and Gabriel nodded his head.

"I'll do my best," he said holding up his balled fist. Carrigan balled her fist and pressed it against Gabriel's.

"Thanks," she said.

I walked forward and hugged Carrigan before she could object. I gave Gabriel a studying look and he smirked at me.

"I love you Carrigan," I said.

"I love you too, Mom," she beamed. "We're strong girls."

"The strongest," I nodded. She pulled out of my arms and waved as she walked down the gravel path away from us and heading for Hogwarts castle. Once she was out of ear shot I turned to Gabriel who was smiling proudly at Carrigan as she walked away. I pinched his arm and he looked down at me with wide eyes.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"What was that whispering about?" I questioned.

Gabriel smirked. "I'm not going to tell you."

I glared at him and tried to enter his mind with Legilimency, but he was blocking me. He laughed out loud and shook his head, turning away.

"Gabriel!" I yelled following him up the path back towards the village. The gates of Hogwarts closed shut once we were away from them with a load clang, making me jump. Gabriel looked at me with a calm smile as I called after him.

"Jumpy are we?" he asked.

"Did she tell you to keep going at me?" I questioned. "Don't give up on knocking me up?" I laughed lightly at my own question as Gabriel peered at me.

"Perhaps," he said calmly. I studied him, knowing very well that whatever Carrigan had said to him had to do with my relationship to him. "I didn't have the heart to tell her that we've never had sex so the chances of us having a kid were slim to none."

"The chances of me having a child ever are slim to none," I responded walking next to Gabriel. "I was lucky to get pregnant to begin with, and Carrigan is lucky to be alive considering Ondrea Cane went knife crazy on my stomach."

Gabriel nodded his head in acknowledgment as we entered Hogsmeade Village.

"Did you want to go see Sirius?" he asked very quietly.

"What? Why?" I asked looking at him oddly.

"I just thought you two might have something to talk about," Gabriel shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets. I bit my bottom lip as I turned away from him, wrecking my mind to figure out what I could possibly need to talk to Sirius about. "We haven't told him that Pettigrew has been missing since he attacked Weasley a few months ago."

I frowned slightly. I didn't really want to go see Sirius just because he would probably be grumpy and hateful towards Gabriel. Also, I didn't want to go alone because then my feelings for him would return and I'd be just as caught as I was years ago. I never understood how I could possibly be so torn and indecisive. Both Sirius and Gabriel deserved better. Well maybe Sirius didn't deserve better now because he left me years ago, but he did deserve better when we were together.

"Maybe you should tell him that," said Gabriel. I turned and glared at him darkly. He smirked and shook his head. "And tell him about Carrigan."

"I hate you," I said shaking my head. "And I'll tell him when I feel like telling him."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and scratched his chin as we stopped in the road. "I have to go to work. You got the day off, but I did not."

I nodded slowly as I looked up at him. He leaned down and kissed my cheek lightly. "We're being watched," he whispered in my ear as he pulled away. I nodded my head again as I looked up at him with concerned eyes. "A big black dog."

I sighed with relief and turned to look over my shoulder. Sirius Black was sitting in his dog form in the opening of an alley next to some trashcans and empty boxes. I looked directly at him, his midnight blue dog eyes locking with mine for a moment.

"You kissed me on purpose," I said as I turned to Gabriel.

"No," Gabriel shook his head. "If I was going to gloat in front of Sirius, like he had so many times in front of me, I would have kissed you full on the mouth."

"Oh," I smirked as I crossed my arms over my chest. "And why aren't you?"

"Because," he leaned in and kissed my lips quickly. "I'm not a bragging man."

I laughed out loud and nodded my head. "Oh okay," I said still smiling. Gabriel beamed at me and pinched my elbow.

"I'll see you at home, tonight," he said.

"Of course," I nodded my head. "See you later."

I turned and started to walk back down the dirt road towards the woods between the village and the Shrieking Shack. I looked over my shoulder to see Sirius following me, along the line of buildings well hidden in the shadows. Gabriel Disapparated in the middle of the street with a last wave at me, and I waved back. Once I entered the forest, I weaved through the trees quickly, stomping on the muddy ground, twigs and dead leaves that covered the forest floor. I could hear Sirius behind me still on his four legs as twigs snapped and leaves rustled under his weight. There was a moment then all movement stopped, except my own and then it sounded like two feet were following me, not four.

I stopped in the middle of my stride on the side of the hill in front of the shack and turned to see a shadowy figure descending from the top of the hill, moving through the trees with ease as their cloak billowed in the cool spring wind. My breath caught in my chest as Sirius Black approached, occasionally touching the tree trunks as he curved around them. He was wearing his Azkaban robes still along with the black cloak I had brought him a month ago. The top of his shirt was cut low reveal the many tattoos on his chest, which even from a distance, caused me to sigh with desire. His beard was a little out of control, despite the grooming utensils I had given him, matching his wild long black hair.

He came to a pause in front of me, looking at me with dark memorizing midnight blue eyes. Slowly, he extended his hands to me and touched my cheeks, rubbing his thumbs over my smooth cheek bones. His eyes smiled once he touched my skin. I raised my eyebrows at him, questioning his touch, and causing him to speak.

"It's funny how the roles have reversed for Gabriel and me," he whispered moving his hand to stroke my hair. "He has you and I don't. Now I know how he felt on the outside of our relationship."

"No," I whispered shaking my head. "You don't—because I'm not with him, nor do I love you."

Sirius frowned deeply and pulled his hands away from my face and hair. I sighed slightly because when he stopped touching me I felt a chill run through my body. He was frowning deeply at me and wearing a sad expression in his eyes. I saw deep pain in him that I had never noticed before. It was finally sinking in to him that I wasn't in love with him anymore; that I had moved on.

"You couldn't have expected me to wait," I whispered sadly. "You left me, then you were accused of killing our best friends—how could I wait through that?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and side stepped around me, heading down the slippery muddy hill. "You shouldn't have lost faith in me," he said over his shoulder as he walked away. I sighed and turned, knowing this argument was not going to end well.

"Yes," I admitted. "I shouldn't have lost faith in you about Lily and James' deaths—but Sirius, honestly, do you blame me? If you were in my situation, would you have done things differently?"

"I like to think I would have," he said as he jumped the fence and making his way onto the property of the Shrieking Shack. "But I suppose I wouldn't know until it happened to me."

When we arrived in the old house I removed my cloak and threw it on the dusty bed in the bedroom, where Sirius seemed to live. The rest of the house was as dusty as ever; cat and dog paw prints and Gabriel's and my footprints decorated the floor. I was surprised that Crookshanks, Hermione Granger's cat, was not to be found in the bedroom of the shack.

"Where is your orange tabby friend?" I asked as I sat down on the edge of the bed. A cloud of dust lifted off the bed around me, causing me to cough. Sirius laughed casually at me as he removed his cloak and threw it on the floor in the corner of the room.

"Don't know," he shrugged. I caught him taking in my appearance with those dark blue eyes of his. He was studying my neck line and cleavage; there was a certain memory of desire and lust in his eyes that made my stomach turn. Rather suddenly, he pivoted and made his way across the room, from the window where he had been standing, straight to me. He touched my neck and leaned his head down, kissing me square on the mouth, deeply and passionately. I froze underneath him, stunned by his actions and lustful kissing. He leaned over me, pressing me back into the bed and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me even more deeply as we lay on the bed. I didn't kiss him in return—how could I? But, stupidly, I didn't stop him either.

Sirius planted a few more soft tender kisses before he pulled his lips away and sat up slightly over me. We were both lying half on the bed with our legs hanging off. Sirius was standing, bent over as he laid his thin body on me. There was sadness in his eyes as he looked me straight in the face.

"You really don't love me anymore," he whispered seriously. I wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in reply. The lie rolled off of my tongue so effortlessly I thought it was scary. "You left me…I had to get over you."

Sirius stood up off of me and moved back to the window. He leaned against its frame and stared out at the backyard of the shack's property. He closed his eyes and hung his head, appearing completely defeated. I sighed as I sat up on the bed and folded my hands, feeling horrible about what had just happened. I looked down at the ground and sighed lightly.

"Pettigrew has been missing since you attacked Weasley in his dormitory," I whispered.

"I figured," he nodded as he stared out the window. "You didn't come back that day you were here…I figured Pettigrew had gotten away."

"We'll find him, Sirius," I said softly as I stood up.

"If Pettigrew was any kind of smart he'd be long gone from this place," Sirius responded while shaking his head.

"It's a good thing he isn't very smart then," I said. "He's still here, Sirius. I can feel it in my bones."

Sirius looked at my sharply. "Really? In your bones? Your gut? How reliable are those considering they told you that I was guilty and Pettigrew was innocent!"

I sighed, rolling my eyes. Apparently we were always going to fight about this—just like before when we always fought about my relationship with Gabriel; I picked my cloak up off the bed and pulled it on.

"I'm going to be heading out then," I said ruthlessly. "I'm not having this fight with you again."

Before I could get to the bedroom door, Sirius reached me, grabbing my arm and pulling me around.

"We have to have it again because the problems have not been resolved," he yelled holding onto me tightly. I glared at him as the floor began to vibrate below my feet. Sirius was glaring at me viciously, with a dark circle of hatred burning in his midnight eyes. My stomach turned and I had to fight every desire I had to punch him, break his jaw and nose, and even kick him to the floor.

"Sirius," I whispered with a hissing sound as I tried to control my voice. If I spoke any louder I would scream and the walls of the Shrieking Shack would no doubt collapse around us. "Release me or I will kill you."

"You couldn't kill me," he said pushing me away. He turned on his heel and walked back to the window to stare out of it. "You can beat the shit out of me with your words and your betrayal, but you can't kill me."

"My betrayal?" I questioned stepping forward. "_How the hell did I betray you?_"

"You gave up on me!"

"YOU LEFT ME!" I screamed in frustration causing the walls to shake and dust to fly everywhere in the room. The floorboards creaked below our feet and the four poster bed collapsed as one of the legs of its frame broke with my anger. "I owe you nothing, Sirius Black! _Nothing!_ You walked out on me because I wasn't ready to marry you! You made that decision on your own, and _you_ have to take responsibility for it."

Sirius stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at me. If Sirius was capable of my powers I probably would have spontaneously combusted with the look he was giving me.

"You betrayed me when we were together," was all he muttered.

"I never cheated on you," I yelled. "What I did was worse and I'm not proud of it. I loved you and Gabriel for years—I loved you when you left me. I loved you when you hurt me. I loved you when you made me feel like shit. And I always came home to you—and I am sorry for that. But you can't hold it against me anymore because _you left_."

"I left because you were an indecisive whore!" he screamed suddenly. "How can you blame me for leaving? You were spreading yourself thin between Gabriel and me—I'm sorry that you loved us but you couldn't have both of us. It doesn't work that way."

My eyes were bulging wide because of what Sirius had just said. I couldn't believe he would even say such things to my face. How dare he? Who did he think he was to call me a whore when he knew nothing of my relationship with Gabriel?

"Two weeks after you were arrested I found out I was pregnant," I said coldly. "There is no doubt that the child is yours. I'm telling you because everyone in my life seems to think you have a right to know. If you look at her there will be no question that she is yours."

Silence wrapped around me in the bedroom as I glared at Sirius. His eyes were wide in shock and disbelief. He was not expecting me to say anything like this.

"We're done," I said scornfully. "I never want to see you again."

I turned on my heel and walked out of the bedroom, shaking from head to two. I wanted to scream and yell—fight some more, but I couldn't. He was destroying me with everything he said; everything we had been. I had no energy left to fight with him. I didn't want to have anything to do with Sirius anymore. This was the last straw, and I was tired of fighting with him or for him when he was just going to call me a thinly-spread-whore.


	33. Innocent

When I arrived home Gabriel could tell I was upset about something. I slammed the front door shut violently causing him to look up from the kitchen table with concern. He didn't question what was wrong, just looked at me with raised eyebrows. I marched straight through the foyer to the stairs and went to my room, where I slammed the bedroom door.

_Want to talk about it?_ Gabriel's voice echoed in my head making me scream loudly with frustration. _Guess not…dinner will be ready in twenty minutes._

I opened the bedroom door. "Alright!" I shouted.

_Like Mother, like daughter,_ Gabriel said into my head.

I slammed my bedroom door again and began to pace back and forth in the bedroom. My arms were crossed over my chest; occasionally as I paced I would bite my lip, tap my fingertips against my lips, or through my hair out of my face and rub the back of my neck. I lost track of time as my mind raced thinking over what had occurred at the Shrieking Shack. I was worried that Sirius wouldn't believe me about Carrigan. And if he did, I was afraid that he might try to see her, to see for himself how similar she looked to him.

I didn't tell Gabriel that Sirius knew about Carrigan until early June. I wasn't surprised when he seemed to know already—Gabriel was very perceptive, especially when it came to things that upset me. However, I was surprised that he had yet to bring it up in conversation. It had been well over a month before I told him—I'm not sure why I told him either. Perhaps because the end of the school year was approaching and Carrigan would be returning home; I'd have to tell her eventually too.

"I figured that's what set you off the last time you saw him," he shrugged easily across the kitchen table from me. It was three in the morning and I was clinging to my cup of coffee. Gabriel had made a habit of going into the office ridiculously earlier in hopes that if he got his paper work done he could get back out in the field. Scrimgeour was still keeping Gabriel benched, which was starting to piss Gabriel off. I didn't usually go in with him that early, but I couldn't sleep that night. Something was bothering me—I had a bad feeling.

"But I don't think that's the only thing that upset you—actually I think you told him to counter whatever he said to upset you. You were just trying to hit him where it hurt," Gabriel said. I blinked and looked at him, sighing slightly. Of course, it wasn't the only thing that upset me. I was upset that it was three in the morning and I was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with the sexiest man in England.

I bit my bottom lip before taking a sip of my coffee. It always amazed me how Gabriel knew what was on my mind. He knew exactly what I was thinking, or what had happened, without me telling him. I put down my coffee mug slowly as he studied me with sapphire blue eyes. His facial features were relaxed today, calm and attractive; he hadn't shaved in about a week, allowing a nice dark beard speckled with grey to be growing in. He looked rugged and handsome; if I wasn't careful he'd seduce me just with those sapphire eyes.

"He called me a thinly spread whore," I whispered still holding the coffee mug, despite it resting on the table.

Gabriel looked at me very seriously. "He was accusing you of cheating?"

"I'm pretty sure he will accuse me of such things until I'm dead," I sighed leaning back in my chair.

"No point in wasting your time trying to change his mind then," Gabriel shrugged. He picked up his spoon and finished his breakfast cereal.

"I don't plan on it," I whispered. "I'm just frustrated because I still feel hurt by everything he says. I'm hurt that he thinks I would betray him."

Gabriel looked at me with a deep frown. "You still love him, that's why it hurts."

I rolled my eyes and stood up from the table, taking my coffee mug and empty cereal bowl to the sink. "No, there's nothing left to love. Well, besides Carrigan. She's the best thing that ever came out of our relationship. Sirius and I may have loved each other at some point, but somewhere along the line we became poison to our own relationship and both of us were too stubborn to admit it was over. I wasted a lot of time with him when I could have been with you, but I was too proud."

I didn't hear Gabriel stand up, but he was behind me once I finished speaking. He wrapped his arms around me from behind and buried his head into my curly hair.

"You're with me now," he whispered in my ear as he pushed my hair over to my other shoulder. He kissed my neck softly as his hands found mine. He held me tightly to his chest, keeping me close, and breathing softly on my neck, tickling my skin.

"How can you forgive me?" I asked sadly. "I lead you on for years—"

"I love you, Cadence," he said sternly, but with a loving tone. "I always have, and I've known that you love me. That will always be enough."

I turned to him, still engulfed in his arms, and looked up at him with smiling eyes. The romantic words he had just said would have sounded like crap coming from anyone else, but because they were coming from Gabriel I practically melted in his arms. I was never one for mushy romanticism, but there was something about Gabriel that made it amazing; perhaps it was his passion for love and romance, the charm he exerted over me, or even simply how freaking gorgeous he was. Of all the women in the world that Gabriel could have, he chose me; he loved me and it was probably time that I started loving him back.

I stood on my toes and kissed his lips delicately as I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders. He pulled me tighter against him as he kissed me in return with deep passion and uncontrollable lust. I opened my mouth welcoming his tongue to press against mine. Gabriel's hands were all over me; they wondered down my back, across my hips and onto my thighs. He suddenly lifted me up and placed me on the counter, all while still kissing me. He spread my legs apart with his body as he stepped closer to the counter and my body. His hands touched my cheeks, my neck and shoulders as we continued kissing, tasting the love from each others lips and mouth. He pulled away suddenly and his lips danced across my jaw line, down my neck and across my collar bone. He carefully kissed my revealed cleavage with his eyes closed. I couldn't help but sigh softly as his hands ran up my thighs teasing the growing heat that was between my legs. Gabriel's lips formed a smile against my skin as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed back up to my ear.

"We have to go to work," he whispered while his hands moved down my back and grazed my butt.

"You've been waiting twenty years to screw me and now you're going to tell me we have to go to work?" I questioned.

Gabriel pulled away, smacked my thigh playfully as he smirked and nodded. "Yep," he said. I sighed and leaned back against the cabinets, wanting desperately for him to keep kissing me. He moved away from the counter and headed for the dinning room where his work things were spread out on the dinning room table.

"You're a bastard!" I yelled through the house.

"Just giving you a taste of your own medicine," he responded with a yell.

I sighed but remained on the counter hoping he would come back.

"I'm not coming back!" he yelled.

I groaned with frustration and hopped off the counter, then proceeded to march into the dinning room where Gabriel was leaning over the dinning room table. He was picking up papers, organizing folders, and placing them into his bag. I stopped in the door frame with my hands on my hips. He ignored me at first, after a few minutes he turned to me, smirking.

"You just going to stand there?" he questioned putting another file folder in his bag. "Not going to get ready for work?"

"Gabriel," I said going to him. I turned his head to me and stood on my toes to kiss him. He smiled against my lips and wrapped his arms around me, squeezing my body against his. I touched his cheeks and pulled my lips away from his; my fingers grazed his lips as I looked up and beamed at him. "I love you," I said softly.

My fingers traced his jaw line and up onto his head where I stroked his smooth brown hair. I planted a few more small gentle kisses on his lips and then stepped away from him, pulling out of his arms.

"I'll get ready for work," I said moving away. Before I could get out of the room, Gabriel grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him, catching me between his arms and chest. He kissed me lustfully, with tenderness and passion; only Gabriel ever kissed me like that. I couldn't help but kiss him in return. I sighed into his mouth as I wrapped my arms around him. His hands stroked my hair and held me close.

"What are you going to do about Carrigan?" he whispered kissing my cheek.

"You mean about Sirius?" I asked as he continued to kiss my neck.

"Yes."

"Well, what is there to do? He knows about Carrigan. I am afraid that he's going to try and contact her," I said stepping away from Gabriel. "But she hasn't called for me…and I don't want to stop him from seeing her." I started to pace back and forth in the dinning room. "Because it's right for him to see her and know her—except she still thinks he's a guilty mass murderer. That could cause some issues."

Gabriel leaned against the table and crossed his arms over his chest as he nodded at me. I continued to pace before him, tapping my fingertips against my lips as I thought out loud.

"Perhaps I should talk to her, tell her what we know—"

There was a sudden sharp pain in my head causing me to grab my temple and fall to my knees in the middle of the dinning room. I screamed as if my head was being split open and laid on my side on the ground.

"Cadence!" Gabriel called my name as he leaned over me, but he seemed so far away.

_Mom, Mom—he's here—_

Carrigan's voice was screaming in my head. I cried out as my body contorted on the floor. Gabriel grabbed my shoulders and held me firmly on the ground to stop me from seizing on the floor.

—_He's here—he says he's innocent—_

"Carrigan," I muttered grabbing Gabriel's collar. "Carri…"

—_Innocent, he says he's innocent—Mom! Dad is here at Hogwarts!_

All of a sudden the pain stopped, Carrigan's voice stopped, and I was staring up at the ceiling of my dinning room with watery eyes. My head was throbbing and my body ached from thrashing around the hardwood floor. Gabriel was no longer by my side, he was in the kitchen.

"Gabriel?" I sighed as I sat up cringing and holding my head.

"In here," he called. I rolled onto my knees and started to crawl forward into the kitchen, annoyed that I just had some sort of psychotic episode that connected me to my daughter and Gabriel wouldn't help me into the kitchen.

"_Gabriel—!_"

Gabriel looked at me from the table where he was standing reading a letter. He sighed and came forward helping me to stand. I leaned against him, holding onto his waistcoat as he looked at the letter in his hand.

"I'm sorry," he whispered extending the letter for me to see. "Fawks just left this from Dumbledore. Sirius is at Hogwarts. They caught him."

"That's what Carrigan said," I responded looking up at Gabriel's eyes.

"She connected with you again?" he questioned with raised eyebrows. "That's what that was?"

"Yes," I whispered with a nod. "Is it possible that the _Connecto Anima _curse Voldemort placed on me passed onto Carrigan?"

Gabriel pulled away slightly as I took the letter from his hands. I looked it over as he thought about my question. "I suppose it's possible, you know I don't know very much about that curse or the blood bond he performed."

I touched my right arm out of habit where a long thin scar remained from my wrist to the inside of my elbow. When I had been sixteen Voldemort has sliced me open to perform a blood bond ceremony because he felt that my pure blood would make his stronger. The wound had taken forever to heal; and I had been accused of trying to remove a Dark Mark from my arm.

"Cadence, we should go to Hogwarts," Gabriel said. "The Ministry may already be there—Sirius is innocent, we have to vouch for him."

I looked up at Gabriel suddenly.

"They won't believe us," I said shaking my head. "Not with out Pettigrew. If they've caught Sirius, Peter is probably still out there."

Gabriel frowned deeply and nodded. "Let's go, we should get out there. Carrigan reached out to you with Legilimency for a reason."

I nodded my head. "I just need to get dressed," I whispered as I moved away from Gabriel. His hands lingered on my hips before I drifted away. Once I was in my bedroom I changed quickly into tight blue jeans, a black blouse and a black vest. I pulled on my knee high leather boots and tied my hair back in a ponytail as I left the room. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

As I descended the stairs I rubbed my throbbing head ache. I would have to speak to Carrigan and Dumbledore about controlling her Legilimency connections with me. We needed to figure out how to control the connection between Carrigan and me because the head aches were killing me. If Carrigan was capable of connecting to me, and my Father was in fact still alive and out there, then it was completely possible that Carrigan could connect to him, or vice versa.

"Ready?" Gabriel asked offering me my cloak as he stood in the foyer. I took the cloak from him and pulled it on.

"What about you going into the office?" I asked.

"It's three in the morning," Gabriel shrugged. "I don't have to be in until nine or ten."

"Alright," I said holding onto his traveling cloak. "You Apparate us."

He kissed my forehead before wrapping his arms around me and concentrating all of our energy on Hogsmeade. I closed my eyes as our bodies were pressed together into what felt like a tiny tube. Suddenly our feet hit the ground, and thankfully I was holding onto him and his arms were wrapped around me, otherwise the rush of landing on the dirt road in front of the Hogwarts castle gates would have sent me to my knees on the ground.

Gabriel asked if I was okay and I nodded as we moved forward and pushed open the gates. We marched up the gravel path to the castle and immediately were welcomed by Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house. She was standing with her arms folded in front of her, looking ridged and cold—just like she did when I was in school. She was wearing emerald green robes and matching hat. Her square glasses her sitting on the bridge of her nose, almost slipping off the tip of it.

"What happened?" I asked her.

"Black caught Weasley, Potter, Granger and your daughter and took them to the Shrieking Shack," McGonagall said as we walked through the entrance hall. "Professor Lupin went after them, following a hunch—apparently he thinks Black is innocent, as do the four students. Professor Snape apprehended them and on the way back to the castle, Dementors attacked. Professor Snape saved Black and Potter's lives."

"What about Pettigrew?" I asked without thinking.

McGonagall stopped dead before mounting the grand staircase.

"You believe it too then?" she asked with high eyebrows. I suddenly felt like I was back in school, being scolded by the old professor.

"Yes," I said boldly. "I do."

"We both do," said Gabriel. "Please, we'd like to see Carrigan—"

"—and Sirius," I said sternly. "We need to speak with Sirius."

McGonagall gave us one firm nod and turned on her heel, marching straight up the stairs towards the seventh floor where the hospital wing was.

"Is Carrigan injured?" I asked quickly realizing where we were heading.

"No," McGonagall shook her head. "She passed out because of the Dementors, but she's been in the hospital wing having some chocolate."

"Where is Remus?" Gabriel asked.

McGonagall frowned deeply as she glanced at both of us. "It's the full moon," she whispered. "He forgot his potion because he went to find Black. He transformed on the way back to the castle, Black tried to hold him off and then the Dementors came."

"I think we all owe you some gratitude, Severus," said a familiar male voice. I frowned slightly as we turned the corner and saw the Minister of Magic outside of the hospital wing speaking with Severus Snape. Professor Dumbledore was standing near by, looking into the hospital wing through the windows on the door.

"It was nothing Minister," said Snape as he stood up straighter.

"Ah, Quintin, Coleman," said the Minister as we approached. Snape turned to see us coming and loathing entered his eyes as he looked at me. "You'll both be pleased to know that Severus here caught Black!"

"Yes," said Gabriel extending his hand to Snape. "So we've heard. Thank you for doing our job for us."

"Yes, Severus," I forced a smile as I folded my hands behind my back. "Thank you for butting into something that was none of your business, as usual, and getting it wrong, also as usual."

"Excuse me?" Snape said raising his eyebrows at me.

"You heard me," I hissed. "You were always butting in when we were in school, never letting Lily be—and now you're butting into everything to do with her son's life—"

"Cadence," said Gabriel touching my shoulder lightly.

"No," I said crossly. "Sirius Black is innocent—"

"Miss Coleman—" interjected the Minister sharply. "You sound just like the children—"

"The children are right," I said harshly. "Sirius Black is innocent. He was framed by Peter Pettigrew—"

"Miss Coleman that is enough!" yelled the Minister.

"Cadence," said Dumbledore coming forward. "I think you should see Carrigan, she's been asking for you."

I nodded, turning away from the red faced Minister of Magic and stepped into the hospital wing that was a ruckus of yelling, just like the hallway.

"Mom!" Carrigan yelled jumping off of her hospital bed. "Mom! Thank Merlin! I knew you'd come. Dad is innocent. He's innocent and they're going to kiss him—please, we have to stop them—"

"—Cadence, he's innocent. You have to stop them—" Harry said also jumping off his bed and coming towards me.

"Harry," Dumbledore said catching the boy's shoulders and guiding him back to bed.

"Carrigan," I said holding her shoulders. I touched her cheeks as her midnight blue eyes stared up at me in fear. I brushed her brown curls out of her face and looked at her with smiling eyes. "I know," I said when she stopped yelling. I stood up straight and turned to Dumbledore. "Professor, I need to take my daughter to see her Father before he has his soul sucked out by Dementors."

Professor Dumbledore smiled and nodded his head. "I thought you might say that. Harry, Hermione, I will be back to speak to you in a few moments. Please try to remain calm and keep your thoughts to yourself," he added.

I took Carrigan's hand and folded it in mine as Dumbledore lead us out of the hospital wing.

"Professor McGonagall," he said as we exited into the hall. "Will you please take Miss Coleman and Carrigan upstairs to see Mr. Black?"

"Absolutely not," the Minister said instantly.

Professor Dumbledore raised his eyebrows high and then looked at Professor McGonagall who bowed her head and turned, leading Carrigan and I down the hall. I looked over my shoulder to see Gabriel speaking quickly with the Minister, still trying to convince him that Sirius was innocent.


	34. Family Reunion

"I'll be here in the hall if you need me," Professor McGonagall said motion to a doorway a floor up and at the end of the corridor. I frowned slightly and squeezed Carrigan's hand tightly in my hand.

"Thank you, Professor," I said. She gave me a firm nod and took a few steps down the hall to give Carrigan and me some privacy. "Carrigan, can you tell me what happened exactly?"

"I was on my way back from visiting Hector and I saw Ron being dragged towards the Whomping Willow by a giant black dog. Harry and Hermione were running after him and I followed. I wanted to help. When we got to the Shrieking Shack everything happened so fast. Dad and Harry were fighting, and then Professor Lupin showed up and they were all yelling about how some guy, Pettigrew, was alive and he was responsible for the Potters' death, not Dad. And Mom, I believe him. I know it's crazy, but I believe him."

"I know," I nodded. "I've known for a couple of months. Divinity told us—"

"—Divinity?" Carrigan questioned.

I shook my head. "That's not the point," I said waving my hands. I stroked Carrigan's hair behind her ear and looked her straight in the eye. "Did you speak to him at all about him being your Father?"

"No," Carrigan shook her head. "No it didn't come up at all."

"Oh," I said surprised. "Uh…do me a favor and wait in the hall for a moment."

"Mom," Carrigan sighed with annoyance. "Please we won't have much time."

"Carrigan, when I go in there and he sees me he's going to yell—"

"—and maybe if I go in with you, he won't."

"Please, just let me do this," I sighed standing up straight and begging her with my dark green eyes.

"Fine," she said crossing her arms over her chest. I nodded my head once in approval as went to the classroom door. I opened it slowly and stepped inside to see Sirius Black dressed in his Azkaban robes and a black cloak, with his back to the door. He was leaning against the windowsill, looking out at the dark wet grounds and the Forbidden Forest in the distance. When he heard the door open he turned to see who had come. At first there was a moment of relief on his face, I wasn't the Minister or the Dementors. He still had a few moments. But quickly that relief turned to anger.

"How dare you even show your face to me, you dirty—"

"If you call me a whore I will kill you!" I yelled as I closed the door shut quickly. I prayed that Carrigan hadn't heard what we had just said. Although, if she had heard she probably would have come charging into the room ready to fight Sirius for insulting my honor.

"How could you possibly withhold her from me?" his voice echoed in my ears. I tried to control my anger. I didn't want to break anything with my energy.

"I didn't find out until after you had gone to Azkaban," I said in a soft voice. "And I was already in Maine."

"Is she even mine?" he said sarcastically. I marched across the room and punched him in the jaw. Sirius stepped back in shock, but took the punch, catching his balance and standing up straight. He rubbed his jaw and glared at me. "If you weren't a woman I'd ring your neck."

"Ring it," I snapped back the walls shook and the desk vibrated against the stone floor. "I don't need that crap from _you_, Sirius. I never cheated on you. I was never unfaithful—"

"You don't have to do anything physical to be unfaithful," Sirius hissed. I stood up straight and put my hands on my hips, glaring at him so harshly that he might burst into flames—I had to control my energy so he _wouldn't _spontaneously combust.

"She's yours," I finally whispered too full of anger to even say anything else. "Don't you dare insult me like that."

"I think I have every right to insult you when you gave up on me," he snapped with rage. "And lied to me about my daughter!" He threw his arm out motioning to the doorway as if he knew that Carrigan was waiting in the hallway. We were arguing so loud I was sure she could hear us.

"I didn't lie to you about her. You never asked."

"You might as well have lied to me!" Sirius screamed.

"STOP IT!" I yelled back violently. The walls shook again from my raised voice and the desks toppled over this time. "STOP IT! What the hell was I supposed to do, Sirius? You left me! You were taken away for killing our best friends! I didn't know who to trust or where I could go! Then I was pregnant with Carrigan! I was young and scared and alone. You were the only person I had ever completely trusted and I thought you were guilty! I thought you were just like my Mother and Father—you turned out to be the thing I had feared most. And _I loved you_. That was all I knew! How the hell would you have responded!"

"Not the way you did," he snapped. "Running into another man's arms to try and make the pain go away."

"You know nothing!" I picked up a vase off of the teacher's desk and threw it at him. He dodged it and it shattered against the wall. "You bastard! You just assume that I did that! You won't even listen to me!"

"What's going on in here?" asked Professor McGonagall walking into the room. I stood up straight and wiped the tears from my cheeks. She had no doubt heard the desk falling over and the vase shattering while she waited in the hall.

"Cadence," said Gabriel's voice coming into the room. My heart sank a little. Of all the moments for him to come in this was probably the worse. And of course he knew I was upset so he came to me, trying to care for me and protect me. He was giving Sirius nasty looks as he touched my shoulders, standing behind me. "Everything alright?"

"Just damn peachy," said Sirius bitterly. "Especially now that you're here to save the freaking day, Gabriel."

"Sirius, you leave him out of this—" I started but I was cut off by a voice from behind McGonagall.

"Mom?" questioned Carrigan. I turned and saw her coming into the room. I sighed and looked at her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this—" Her eyes fell on the fallen desk, school books that littered the floor and shattered vase. "Have you been throwing things at each other?"

"Actually it was just your Mother," said Sirius sharply.

"Mom," Carrigan said looking at me with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for—"

"Oh no," I said going to her and lifting her chin. "This is not your fault. Not at all, baby."

"Carri, why don't you go back to the hospital wing?" suggested Gabriel. "Your Mother and I need to have some words with," he paused for a moment and glanced at Sirius. "Your Father."

Carrigan looked to Sirius. I was surprised that she was glaring at him. Was she glaring because he had made me cry, or because she thought he was being an ass? I didn't want her to think that of him. This was not the way Sirius had always been, and if things had been different I'm sure he would have been an amazing father, even if we hadn't stayed together.

"Only if you promise to show me how to break a guy's neck," she said holding out her fist with a grin. He balled his fist and knocked it against hers. I gave him a nasty look and he frowned.

"No promises," he said quickly. I saw him wink at her and she smiled lightly.

Sirius sighed and rubbed his face, turning away from his daughter and returning to the window. I could tell he was boiling with anger now, about to erupt. Gabriel was showing him up—like he had when we were younger. Gabriel made Sirius feel like an inadequate boyfriend, and now was making him feel like an inadequate Father.

"Come on, Carrigan," said Professor McGonagall taking my daughter's arm. "Let's go."

Once the door shut, Sirius turned back around and looked at Gabriel and me like we were slightly nuts.

"_What the hell are you letting him teach her!_" he yelled violently. "She's going to become a mental killer!"

"Excuse me," Gabriel said stepping forward. I grabbed his upper arm and held it firmly to stop him from approaching. He stopped and looked at me with annoyed eyes. He rolled them and turned away.

"Gabriel teaches Carrigan some defense skills, nothing that I don't already know and approve of him teaching her," I said stepping between the two men. I crossed my arms over my chest. "I want her to be able to defend herself."

"These are the same things that _he_ taught _you_ when he kidnapped you and then you were never the same!"

This comment blind-sided me. I dropped my hands to my sides and then put them on my hips, glaring violently at him. I shook my head and turned away from him, heading for the door. Gabriel grabbed my arm and held me back.

"Please stay, we need to talk with him," said Gabriel in my ear.

"What the hell could I possibly have to talk to _you_ about?" Sirius asked brutally.

"I don't think it's appropriate the way you're speaking to Cadence," Gabriel said aggressively. "She's been through enough with out you throwing all this shit on her now. She may let you walk all over her, but I won't stand for it anymore."

"I don't think this shit is really any of your business."

Gabriel shook his head and glared at Sirius fiercely. I put my head in my hands and sighed. I didn't know what Gabriel thought he was doing and I wished he'd stop.

"None of this matters," I said interrupting the two of them bickering. "I don't care anymore. I just want to live my life in peace. You're not going to listen to me and you're not going to forgive me for giving up on you. But maybe I didn't just give up on you, Sirius. Maybe I gave up on myself too. I haven't been with anyone else since you—not even Gabriel. It's not my problem that you're caught up in jealousy." I crossed my arms over my chest and glared fiercely at Sirius who was looking bewildered. He didn't know what to say to me. "For some reason, Carrigan wants to see you before you get your soul sucked out by a Dementor—frankly the only reason I care about what happens to you is because I think she deserves a chance to know her Father."

I opened the classroom door with my mind and called Carrigan with Legilimency.

"Mom?" she questioned coming back into the room. "What's the matter?"

"I don't think it's a good idea," Gabriel said slowly.

"For once I agree with Gabriel," Sirius said with a harsh look at me. He turned to the window again, so he didn't have to look at me. "Just get out of here, all of you—I don't want to see any of you."

"Carrigan wanted to see you," I said sternly. "I think you owe her that."

"What?" he questioned turning to me. "What could I possibly owe her—I just found out she existed a month ago."

"You know I'm standing right here, right?" Carrigan questioned crossing her arms over her chest. Sirius looked at her as he put his hands on his hips, giving her a nasty look.

"Well there's no question that she's _your _daughter," he said crossly.

"No kidding considering I squished her out of my vagina!" I yelled as the desks in the room began to shake on the cold stone floor.

"Mom!" Carrigan snapped. I matched her glaring stare with my own as I crossed my arms over my chest, but I started to control my energy so that the desk stopped vibrating against the floor. "First of all, of course I'm her daughter," Carrigan said looking at Sirius. "Second of all, how could you have any doubt that I was your daughter—people have been calling me out on it all year! I feel like I'm looking in a mirror with that midnight glare you're giving me—"

"Carrigan," I said quickly. "That's enough."

Carrigan frowned and folded her hands behind her back as she looked down at the ground.

"Why'd you bring her here?" Sirius asked looking at me. "To prove a point?"

"What point?" I questioned. "She wanted to see her Father before the Dementors came to suck your soul out, you selfish bastard—"

"I am so happy that you guys aren't together," she said shaking her head. "I would have had a messed up childhood."

"Carrigan," I sighed rubbing my head. "That's probably not helping because I'm sure that your Father thinks I've failed you as is."

"You're damn right I do," Sirius said.

"Hey, don't gang up on her," Carrigan said coming forward. "You weren't there, you don't know what happened—"

"Carrigan," Gabriel said giving her a scowling look. She raised her eyebrows at him and glared.

Sirius let out a frustrated groan and knocked a desk out of the way of his path. Carrigan and I both jumped, but Gabriel stepped forward, as if he were afraid that Sirius would grow violent.

"Was he always like this?" Carrigan whispered to me.

"No," I said sadly to her.

"Your Mother made me like this," Sirius retorted as he threw his messy black hair out of his face. "She's volatile and I imagine you're a great deal like her."

Carrigan looked at her Father with sharp midnight blue eyes. I had never seen her eyes look so bitter and cold. I didn't think she was capable of being so cold; she reminded me of myself. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed, rubbing my head a little.

"How dare you," she said coldly. "How dare you insult her when she has done nothing but love you and let that love ruin her? How dare you say she made you into a violent bastard of a man when you destroyed her? You made it impossible for her to ever love anyone again!"

"Aren't you like eleven?" Sirius asked viciously.

I bit my bottom lip and sighed, trying not to smile. Like Mother like daughter—she sounded cold and sarcastic. I glanced at Gabriel and saw his frown. My eyes turned to Sirius and I saw the pain in his eyes. I turned to Carrigan.

"I think that was a little much Carrigan," I said sharply to her.

She shrugged and turned her eyes back to Sirius.

"Maybe harsh is what he needs," Carrigan whispered. "Maybe then he'll see what's going on here."

Sirius suddenly glared at her. "And all of a sudden you know what is right and wrong with me and this world?" He moved towards her and she stood her ground. I moved forward, only a step, watching as Sirius approached his daughter. "Carrigan, you don't understand any of this and I suggest you stay out of it."

"I understand everything just fine," Carrigan hissed back. "Despite what you might think I'm not a little girl. I know that you're innocent. We all do. But you can't keep blaming Mother for believing the evidence that was provided for her."

"She should have known in her heart," Sirius retorted. "She should have kept faith in me like I had her."

"You call what you have faith?" Carrigan poked her Father in the chest and stepped towards him. "If you had such good faith in her why are you accusing her of having an affair, and why are questioning if I'm yours? _Why did you leave her?_ Your faith in her looks a lot like the faith she had in you, and frankly I don't blame her. All evidence pointed to you being guilty, and even after that she never loved another man. She's been alone all my life. The only man I remember being there for us is Gabriel and he was only there when Mom allowed him. Don't you tell me about good faith and the world we live in. And don't you tell me that I don't understand what's going on because I sure as hell do. I've understood everything that's been going on for some time now. Don't think that you can just come in here and start bossing me around because you realized that I have the same goddamn blood as you—"

"_Carrigan,_" I said sharply.

She turned to me frowning then looked back at Sirius. "A few strands of DNA only means you're my biological Father—beyond that you're nothing to me. Not now anyways."

She turned and walked out of the room. I could see the fire burning in her eyes and I prayed that she controlled her anger so the whole castle wouldn't come crumbling down to the ground. Thankfully, she only scorched the ceiling of the room as she walked out, leaving a trail of burnt wood all the way to the classroom door. I clapped my hand to my head and sighed with some relief. Sirius stood firm and tall, looking like he had just been socked in the stomach numerous times—which I thought he deserved. The truth hurt, but maybe he needed to hear it from Carrigan, maybe she was the only one who could get through to him now. I most certainly couldn't.

"We're lucky she didn't burn down the castle," Gabriel said walking past me. His hand grazed my lower back and he paused for one moment next to me. The look in his eyes was that of concern. I nodded to him, trying to reassure him that I was okay. He forced a smile and left the room, glancing at Sirius before he left.

"She is volatile, like you," he said with a laugh. He paced back to the window and sighed. "She's volatile, cold, independent, beautiful, stunning...she's you."

I frowned and folded my hands in front of me as I looked to the ground. I took a deep breath and looked up at Sirius. "I'm sorry about the things she said-"

"Don't be," he said shaking his head. "She's right."

He came to me quickly, before I had the chance to move away he took me in his arms and kissed me straight on the mouth. I sighed in his arms as I let him kiss me. This would be the last time I let him kiss me. I pressed my hands against his chest and took a step back, sighing slightly.

"Sirius," I whispered with tears in my eyes. I wiped my cheeks and looked away from him. He tipped my chin up so I was looking at him.

"I'm sorry, Cadence," he whispered. "I'm sorry for everything that happened. If you don't love me anymore that's fine, you don't owe me anything."

He brushed my hair behind my ears and sighed as his midnight blue eyes looked at my green ones. "I will always love you," he said.

"Sirius," I sighed shaking my head.

"I don't want to make this difficult for you," he said quickly. "I know we've been through the ringer-I know that we've both messed up and I understand if you don't love me anymore. I don't blame you for that at all. But, Cadence, you need to promise me that you will raise Carrigan to not hate me-"

"Sirius, of course," I said touching his shoulders. "I'll do my best. She will know that you are a good man, because you are. You are a good man."

There was a sharp tap on the window that caused Sirius to pull away from me. We both went to the window to see Harry Potter and Hermione Granger riding on the back of Buckbeck, the Hippogriff. I looked at the teenagers in wonder as Hermoine yelled for Sirius to move away from the window. She waved her wand with her right hand as she clung to Harry with her other arm. The window opened outwards and Sirius leaned froward.

"How-how-?" Sirius questioned.

"Get on!" Harry said waving at Sirius to come out the window. "There isn't much time, the Dementors are coming-"

Sirius turned to me and took my shoulders. "Cadence," he said. "I'll write-I'll try to-but you need to find Pettigrew-"

"What?" I said quizzically.

"He's still out there and I won't be able to hunt him if I'm on the run from the Ministry and Dementors. You need to find him. He's going to return to your Father-"

"Alright," I said grabbing Sirius' hand and squeezing it. "Alright. You go. You don't have much time."

"Leave first," he nodded to the door.

"Sirius!" Harry yelled from outside the window. "Get on!"

Sirius nodded his head and forced a smile at me. I looked him straight in the eye and took a long breath, then nodded, squeezing his hand. I turned and walked away from him, leaving the room without looking back. My heart was racing as I closed the door tightly behind me. Gabriel, Carrigan and Professor McGonagall were all standing in the hall in silence waiting for me. Gabriel stepped forward instantly.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I said with a smile at Carrigan who looked worried. I patted her cheek and took her hand. "Come on, let's get you down to your dormitory. You have exams coming up, right?"

"I can't think about them," she said sadly. "The one chance I had to speak with my biological Father and we fought, now I understand why you hate him so much."

"I don't hate him, Carrigan," I sighed as we walked down the hall with Gabriel and Professor McGonagall behind us. "He's just difficult...once you get to know him, well, you learn to love him."

"I'm not going to get that chance," she said shaking her head. "And why would he want to know me now that I've told him he's not my Father?"

I looked over my shoulder at Gabriel and McGonagall and smiled slightly to reassure them that everything was fine. I kissed Carrigan's forehead and leaned down to her ear.

"You might get the chance," I whispered.

She looked up at me with puzzled eyes but I just smiled at her as we continued down the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower. She looked at me with a smirk and wrapped her arms around my center, leaning on me as we continued to walk. I couldn't help but smile widely because somehow everything was going to be okay. Sirius was innocent, on the run and had apologized for any pain he had ever caused me. Gabriel and I were finally starting to recognize some sort of romantic relationship between us. Carrigan was about to finish her first year at Hogwarts...and work...well work sucked, but I suppose if everything was perfect in my life it wouldn't be any fun. It was starting to look like that everything in my life was not an endless struggle after all.


	35. Adventure

"I don't know if this is a good idea," Gabriel said pacing in my bedroom as I leaned over my bed, folding clothing and packing it into a duffle bag. "I should go—you need to stay here with Carrigan."

"Gabriel," I said throwing down the clothes and putting my hands on my hips as I turned to him. "Enough. Scrimgeour has already approved it, the Minister even signed off on it—"

"The Minister doesn't know that you're going to look for Peter Pettigrew all across Europe!"

"He wouldn't believe me if I told him," I shrugged zipping my duffle shut and moving to find my traveling cloak. "Come on, get your stuff we're going to be late getting Carrigan."

"Cadence," Gabriel said grabbing my arm and preventing me from leaving the bedside. "You can't just leave. You have responsibilities here! To Carrigan, to the Ministry, to me!"

"If you're going to suggest I'm being a bad Mother by leaving to hunt down a dangerous Death Eater who will lead to my Father, then you're an ass," I retorted pulling out of Gabriel's grasp. "And not the man I remember working with all those years ago."

I marched into the closet and retrieved my traveling cloak. I pulled it on as I emerged from the closet, glaring still at Gabriel who was standing tall by the bed with his arms crossed over his muscular chest. He was wearing jeans and a black tee shirt today, revealing all the decorative tattoos on his arms. I approached him slowly, despite still being angry about what he was saying.

"Times are different now," Gabriel shrugged.

"If I can find Peter before he gets to my Father then I can stop him from returning," I said shaking my head. "I would rather you go—but you can't stop my Father if he does return. I can."

Gabriel sighed and brushed my hair behind my ears, cupping my cheeks as he looked into my green eyes with bright purple ones. His hands drifted down my neck and rested on my shoulders as he leaned down and kissed me deeply. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned against his body, kissing him passionately in return.

"What are you going to tell Carrigan?" he whispered holding me close against him. I rubbed my hands up and down on his chest, feeling his rippling muscles underneath my hands, making me wish I could see them. He pulled away suddenly, almost running into the bed, and pulled his shirt off. I smiled and shook my head, staring at Gabriel's gorgeous muscular torso and chest. I caught my breath and bit my bottom lip. His arms were completely covered in sleeve tattoos that spread over his shoulders. I could stare at those tattoos forever; each time I looked at them there was a different one to study; my favorite was the tangles of thorns he had running up his right arm with two beautiful blooming roses just below the inside of his elbow.

"Will this make you stay?" he asked changing the subject.

I smirked again. "Nope."

He grabbed me and pulled me against him tightly. I sighed as my fingers grazed his six pack abs. He lifted me up with out warning and turned his body, throwing me down on the bed. His body laid down on mine as his arms wrapped around me and he planted soft kisses on my lips.

"How about that?" he asked.

"No," I whispered still smiling. I reached up, stroking Gabriel's soft brown hair, and kissed him deeply. "We have to go. The train will be getting in soon."

Gabriel pressed his hips down onto mine and kissed me deeply, not letting me up from the bed. His lips traveled down my chin to my neck and he carefully kissed my collar bone and cleavage.

"Gabriel," I sighed with a hint of pleasure on my tongue. I couldn't help but arch my back and rub my hands down Gabriel's back as he continued to kiss my sensitive exposed flesh. I pushed my hips up against his, trying to roll our bodies over but Gabriel was strong enough to keep me down. I sighed against him as he continued to rub his body against mine. He lifted his head as he beamed at me, and brushed my hair out of my face.

"I don't want you to go because I know you're right," he whispered burying his head into my neck. He kissed my skin softly, pressed his tongue against it, and licked down across my collar bone. I couldn't help but sigh with pleasure as his hands pushed my shirt up and ran along my sides, tickling my skin and senses.

"Gabriel," I whispered his name.

He paused, resting his chin on my breast and stared up at me. I bit my bottom lip and tried to maintain my composure. I wanted him just the way he was—on top of me, kissing my flesh and tickling my senses with his fingertips. I wanted all of him all over me so badly that I considered listening to him and staying there in England for the summer.

"We have to go," I said. "The Hogwarts Express will be arriving at any moment."

Gabriel sighed and nodded his head, then stood up. He took my hand and pulled me up off the bed, straight into his arms. I smiled as he held me close against him and leaned his head down to kiss me lovingly on the lips. I pulled out of his arms slowly, letting our lips and hands linger on the other's body.

"Let's go," I smiled at him as I went to my duffle bag and zipped it shut. When I turned to face Gabriel he was pulling his shirt back on. He grabbed my bag for me and threw it over his shoulder as he looked me up and down.

"You have your blades?"

"Of course," I said perturbed. I wasn't stupid—I had hunted Death Eaters many times before and I knew to be prepared. I was wearing a holster that wrapped around my shoulders and carried the curved knives I had stolen from Gabriel when I was fifteen under my arms. I also had a holster resting on my hips, holding two more knives; a holster on each thigh and a knife in each boot. My wand was tucked safely in my left boot on the inside of my calf. With eight knives, nine if you counted the one in my bag but I wasn't carrying it on my persons, I felt like a dangerous killing machine.

"I want you to write to me at least once a week," Gabriel said as we exited the bedroom.

"You're not my keeper."

"I might as well be," he hissed. "You're worse trouble then Carrigan, mostly because you're fully grown and well trained—"

"Gabriel, can't you just be a supportive boyfriend, wish me luck and tell me to get home fast?" I asked when we reached the bottom of the staircase. Gabriel dropped my duffle bag next to the door and looked at me, crossing his arms over his chest and giving me a very annoyed stare.

"What did you say?" he said seriously.

I gave him a dirty look. "I asked why you couldn't be supportive! You know I'm more then capable of going out after a Death Eater, especially Peter Pettigrew, he's not the brightest bulb in a box, I'm sure I'll find him in no time."

"That's not what I meant," he said shaking his head. "You called me your boyfriend."

"So?"

"So?" he repeated. "You've never acknowledged our relationship as a relationship, let alone as an exclusive one in which you call me your boyfriend."

"Well maybe I want to make it official so I know you'll wait for me until I get back," I joked side stepping past him and picking up my bag. "Come on, _boyfriend_, Carrigan is waiting."

We arrived on Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station just as the Hogwarts Express was unloading it's many student passengers onto the platform. I grumbled to Gabriel as we stood against the wall of the crowded station that we should have come sooner to find a better spot to wait for Carrigan.

"A better spot?" Gabriel questioned. "I don't think there is such thing as a good spot on this crowded platform."

Before I could retort an answer back to him, I saw Carrigan's brown hair and midnight blue eyes bobbing through the crowd as she held arms with Harry Potter. His friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were walking with them, along with Ron's younger sister Ginny Weasley who was talking quickly in Carrigan's ear as they walked. Carrigan and Harry waved to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny before making their way over to where Gabriel and I stood.

"Mom!" Carrigan called excitedly. She bounded into my arms as I beamed and grunted with discomfort as her body squished against the numerous blades in their holsters. "Why are you all armored up?" she questioned pulling away.

"I have business to attend to," I whispered stroking her hair. She nodded her head slowly and turned to Gabriel, hugging him tightly around the chest and burying her head into the nape of his neck.

"Hello Harry," I said shaking his hand. "How was the end of your term?"

"It went well thank you," he said. The smile on his face and his happy green eyes took a sharp turn for the worst as he looked past me down the platform. I followed his stare and saw that he was looking at a large, purple faced man, with beady eyes. I recognized the man instantly as Harry's Uncle Vernon Dursley. I patted his shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

"Do you want me to go over with you?" I questioned. "I could scare him a bit."

I pushed my cloak back to reveal all the knives I was wearing. Harry smiled slightly, but had a nervous look in his eyes. "No thanks," he said holding up a pieces of paper that was clenched in his hands. "I have my own way of scaring him."

I smiled. "Alright then," I pulled him in for a hug before he could escape me. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to write. I'll be out of the country for awhile, but I'll always come for you Harry. I promised your Mother I'd look out for you."

"Thanks, Cadence," he said pulling out of my arms and smiling at me. My heart pinched at his green eyed stare and smile—he looked just like his Mother, Lily. I sighed and nodded my head, reassuring myself that I had said all I should.

"Bye Harry," Carrigan said hugging him tightly. "Write to me, please."

"I will," Harry nodded. "See you around."

"Good bye, Potter," said Gabriel shaking Harry's hand. Harry looked at him nervously but forced a weak smile. I watched as Harry walked off through the crowd towards his Uncle, who immediately started to question him. I smiled as they exchanged quick words that ended with Uncle Vernon having deep fear in his beady little eyes.

"Where are you heading, Mom?" Carrigan asked as Gabriel grabbed her trunk and she swung her bag over her shoulder.

"I have to hunt down Pettigrew," I whispered very quietly in her ear as I leaned close to her.

"Oh," she said with a frown as she nodded. "That's very important. Do you think you'll see Dad?"

I frowned slightly as I looked around at the strangers too close to us for comfort.

"No, probably not," I said quickly.

"Carri," Gabriel said her name softly. "Where is Hector?"

"Hagrid is watching him until you can take me out to get him," she responded. "He's far too big to travel on the train, and he doesn't know the way home yet to fly there himself."

"He probably shouldn't be flying," I said sharply. "Can you imagine the Muggle report? Mythical creature seen flying over London? The Ministry would kill us."

Carrigan laughed. "I'm sure he'd be smart about it—he's a very clever animal. Mom," she said as she took my hand. "Will you bring something back for me? And when you're gone can Gabriel teach me to conjure things? When will you be back?"

"I'll bring you back something from each country I visit," I smiled at her. "Gabriel will decide when you're strong enough to start learning how to conjure things and I don't know when I'll be back."

Carrigan sighed slightly. I could see it in her eyes that she was upset that I didn't know how long I was going to be gone. "Two out of three isn't bad," she whispered as we passed through the portal to the Muggle platform 9. Gabriel lead us through the station easily as there weren't as many Muggles on the platform as there had been wizards on platform 9 and ¾. When we reached the parking lot I stopped Carrigan and Gabriel in between two large SUV cars.

"Is it time?" Carrigan asked sadly.

I nodded and pulled her into my arms again. "I love you Carrigan," I said as I held her tightly. "Promise me you'll behave for Gabriel. You'll do anything he says, especially when it comes to train and safety."

"Of course," Carrigan nodded against my chest.

"And you'll watch out for him," I added as she pulled away to smile at me. Gabriel gave me the ugly eye and I stuck my tongue out at him. I stepped forward, with Carrigan still wrapped around me and took one of my arms from her and wrapped it around Gabriel's broad shoulders. He kissed my head and wrapped an arm around my waist as Carrigan was awkwardly squished between us.

"I love you both with all my heart," I said. "Be safe."

"You be safe," said Gabriel stroking my cheek. "And remember to write us every week."

"I will," I nodded readjusting my duffle over my shoulder. I kissed Carrigan's forehead and then looked up at Gabriel. His mystical purple eyes were smiling at me.

"Don't think you're leaving me without a kiss," he whispered touching my cheek and tracing my jaw line with his fingertips. He leaned down and kissed me deeply without warning. The sudden kiss made me catch my breath and press against him with hesitation. I melted against him, loving the way his lips pressed against mine and tongue played in my mouth. It was one of the most passionate kisses we had ever shared, dripping with longing and lust even though I hadn't actually left yet.

"I'll be back before you know it," I said. "Good bye."

I turned and walked away from the two most important people in my life. The decision to leave England to hunt down Peter Pettigrew and allow him to lead me to my Father was no an easy one. I had thought it through for nights before I spoke to Dumbledore about it—and he had agreed, Voldemort was sure to return within the next year, Harry had witnessed the Divination teacher having a vision of such an occurrence. Dumbledore was able to persuade Scrimgeour to form official Ministry Orders for my trip. The official orders said I was looking for Sirius Black—which is why the Minister signed off on them.

I was petrified about what I was doing. The fact that in my gut I had a strong feeling that Voldemort would return made me sick. There was fear buried deep inside of me, as if it were being saved for this time—for when Voldemort would return. I had hoped it would never happen in Carrigan's time, that somehow Voldemort would vanish for centuries, because I did not want to her live a life during war like I had. I did not want her to know the pain, fear and destruction that Voldemort thrived in. If Professor Trelawney's prophecy was right, and Peter Pettigrew returned to his Master, then a new sort of war was going to break out; a war far more vicious and frightening then the one that my Father raged before. I feared that if Voldemort returned there would be no stopping him.

Because of that fear, the plan was to find Pettigrew, follow him to my Father and kill them both. Voldemort would be weak now and I could easily kill him—the time was now. I had to act fast, I was already weeks behind Pettigrew. I couldn't help but smile as I exited the Muggle parking lot and walked out onto the busy streets of London. Even if there was fear boiling deep down in my soul, adventure waited for me as soon as I Disapparated. I found my way to a dark quiet alley and stole behind a large dumpster. I took a deep breath, focused my energy on the Romanian countryside then—_crack_—London was behind me.

Fin.


End file.
